


Waiting For Ribbons In The Void

by Elias_Pedro



Series: Post-Credits [5]
Category: Doki Doki Literature Club! (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/F, In Media Res
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-07
Updated: 2018-07-29
Packaged: 2019-03-28 00:59:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 28,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13892898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elias_Pedro/pseuds/Elias_Pedro
Summary: Monika and Sayori have fallen into the Void, leaving the Literature Club in the hands of Yuri and Natsuki. The brash manga-reader and the quiet novelist find themselves having to pick up the pieces while they wait for Monika and Sayori to return.





	1. Promotion

**Author's Note:**

> This story takes place between Chapters 9 and 10 of 'Post-Credits'! It follows Yuri's and Natsuki's journey to keep the Literature Club together after Monika and Sayori fell into the Void.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuri and Natsuki watch as Sayori prepares herself to leap into the Void and go after Monika.

_“Yuri, Natsuki. I’m gonna ask the two of you for a really big favor, okay?_ ”

“ _I’ll do exactly what I told Elias. I’ll write an ending for this story - and I’ll save Monika too._ ”

“ _So, I want you two to look after the Literature Club for me._ ”

 _“This is my last assignment for you guys as club president._ ”

 

Those were the last words that Sayori told Yuri and Natsuki as the howling winds of the Void blew through the fractures in the glitched classroom. Sayori was preparing herself to leap into the Void to go after Monika and to leave Yuri and Natsuki behind.

Neither of the two girls wanted to let Sayori go, but they also knew that they couldn’t stop her.

After all, whenever Sayori said something with a bright smile, it meant that she was serious. Wisps of hope were glimmering in the oceans of her blue eyes as well. It was Sayori’s gentle way of saying that she had already made up her mind.

Sayori wasn’t sure if she was going to succeed. She didn’t know what waited for her once she dove into the Void. She didn’t even know if she would make it through at all.

But that didn’t stop Sayori.

She wanted to see Monika again, no matter what.

When Sayori showed her conviction, Yuri and Natsuki had no choice but to step aside and let Sayori go.

Yuri and Natsuki walked out of the glitched classroom with heavy hearts, but they did so in a hurry. With every passing moment, the Void swallowed up more and more of the fractured, glitched classroom. The corruption chipped away at the room and threatened to spread to the rest of the game files.

Once Natsuki crossed the threshold, she hesitated to close the door behind them. She stole one last glance of Sayori inside the glitched classroom, hoping for even the slightest hint of hesitation.

However, Sayori fearlessly faced the Void before her.

So, the pink-haired girl steadied her breath and firmly closed the door to the glitched classroom. She then brought out the administrative notebook that Sayori left with her.

Natsuki opened it to the last page and she found a list of instructions written in Monika’s handwriting. It was Monika’s plan to stop the Void from eating up the rest of their world, summarized in three points:

  * First, seal the classroom door.


  * Then, quarantine the glitched classroom from the rest of the files.


  * Finally, delete the room and everything inside of it.



Natsuki skimmed through the instructions and her already heavy heart grew even heavier.

She knew that it was the point of no return.

Yuri watched Natsuki’s horrified reaction from a few paces away. That reaction told her everything that she needed to know about the instructions on the notebook. She understood what they were asking Natsuki to do.

The purple-haired girl was holding her copy of _The Portrait of Markov_ in her arms as she faced Natsuki with a conflicted expression. Yuri knew what had to be done, but her second thoughts stubbornly gripped her heart.

Natsuki felt Yuri’s eyes on her, so she held the notebook tightly. She read the instructions again and followed Monika’s instructions by the letter.

She untied the knot and set the strings of pre-written code into motion.

The moment that Natsuki did this, the door to the glitched classroom flickered and warped with unstable code. The hiss and crackle of static from the door intensified and frightened Natsuki’s weary heart, but she kept on going.

Natsuki’s hands trembled as the lines of code triggered one after another on the administrative notebook, but she kept on going.

Then, all the memories that Natsuki had of Sayori and Monika surfaced in her mind - the good and the bad. Those memories gripped at Natsuki’s entire being and urged her to stop.

But she kept on going.

After a short while that seemed like an eternity, there was silence.

Yuri and Natsuki turned to the door, but it was gone. It was gone, along with everything - and everyone - that was behind it.

The quarantine was successful.

The world that Yuri and Natsuki were living in was saved.

However, when Natsuki closed the notebook, the sound of it echoed hollowly throughout the empty hall. She then held the notebook close to her tired heart and felt tears forming at the sides of her eyes.

In that silence, Natsuki became the president of the Literature Club, and their long days of waiting began.

 

\---

..-

 

After the door to the glitched classroom disappeared, Yuri and Natsuki found themselves in a daze.

Monika and Sayori were gone. The only path to where they were was sealed off and deleted. Their character files were nowhere to be found either.

Neither Yuri nor Natsuki could believe what just happened, so they just blankly looked at the empty wall.

It must have been a really bad dream.

That was what the girls wanted to think.

They wanted to believe that if they went back to the clubroom, Monika and Sayori would be there waiting for them.

They imagined Monika, the vice president, sternly chiding them for staying out of the clubroom for so long. Sayori, the club president, would then pleasantly intervene and suggest that they shared their poems.

That was what Yuri and Natsuki hoped for, but reality wasn’t so kind.

Once the girls reached the clubroom, they opened the door and saw the truth with their own eyes.

They weren’t in a bad dream. The crazy things that happened just minutes ago were real. Monika and Sayori were really gone.

That was their reality now, and they were going to have to live with it.

Natsuki clenched her fists as she realized that. She didn’t want to accept that reality and neither did Yuri.

However, when Natsuki turned to her companion, she saw Yuri hanging her head low.

The tall girl couldn’t bear to see the empty clubroom, so she turned away and pressed her back against the hallway walls. She then looked out the hallway windows with tearful eyes and bitterly recounted,

“This… is all my fault. I simply wished... to exact revenge on Monika for the things that she did. I was prepared... to face consequences myself. I got what I wanted… but I regret it now. I even dragged you and Sayori into this mess… and... S-Sayori paid... the p-price instead of me.”

She then closed her eyes and weakly lamented,

“I should have died instead.”

Natsuki’s clenched fists shook at her sides as soon as she heard that. She then stomped her foot on the floor and roared,

“Don’t talk like that, Yuri! Monika sacrificed herself to save Sayori and Sayori decided to save Monika. It doesn’t matter who’s at fault here - but nobody had to die. Don’t even think about dying, Yuri!”

Yuri shriveled up from Natsuki’s sharp lecture and sheepishly eked,

“I-I’m… sorry…”

Natsuki saw Yuri’s pained expression and quickly apologized,

“I... d-didn’t mean to say it like that, Yuri. What I wanted to say was… w-we need to find a way to move forward from all this. Right?”

Yuri replied with a frail nod and followed Natsuki into the clubroom. However, it was easy to tell that Yuri still wasn’t entirely convinced. Natsuki herself felt her own doubts and frustrations overflowing in her heart.

Sayori was determined to save Monika, but there was no way to tell if she would succeed. Even the author of the story, Elias, couldn’t promise that. Natsuki knew that she had no experience being the club president at all. She also knew that Yuri was still emotionally scarred from the things that happened.

Natsuki didn’t know how, but she knew that she had to be strong. She felt as if she didn’t have much to offer and that she wasn’t really cut out to be a leader. However, she wanted to be there for Yuri at least.

Their circumstances may have changed, but Natsuki still wanted to reach out to Yuri.

So, Natsuki took a deep breath and calmed down her worried heart. She closed her eyes for a moment to compose herself. Then, she turned to the disheartened Yuri and firmly declared,

“Yuri. Sayori asked us to take care of the Literature Club. It’s just the two of now, but I’m planning to take that job seriously. For better or for worse, I’m gonna be the club president. I know jack shit - so I don’t know if I’m gonna do a good job. I don’t even know the first thing about Python code or html or whatever. But, I’m gonna try to make this all work. That’s what people do, don’t they? They try.”

Natsuki then looked into Yuri’s eyes and wholeheartedly continued,

“I don’t know if Monika or Sayori are ever gonna make it back, but I’m gonna do what I can for them. When those two come back, I want them to have something to come back to… and I’m sure as hell gonna need your help, Yuri! I want you to try this Literature Club thing again with me. Okay?”

The purple-haired girl listened Natsuki’s brash yet impassioned speech with awe. She didn’t know that Natsuki could speak with that much conviction before. More than that, she didn’t think that simple yet wholehearted words could reach out to her like they did.

Somehow, Yuri couldn’t help but feel like Natsuki’s words sounded like one of the pink-haired girl’s poems. Simple - yet earnest, and straight from the heart.

It was beautiful in its own way.

With that, Yuri managed to give Natsuki another nod. It was still a sluggish gesture, but Natsuki saw wisps of determination in Yuri’s purple eyes.

The tall girl then hobbled together a small smile as she finally spoke,

“I may not be able to contribute much either... but I would be happy to ‘try’ with you as well… P-President Natsuki.”

Natsuki’s cheeks flushed red when Yuri addressed her so formally. She wasn’t used to being called the club president at all. Hearing that title from somebody that she secretly admired didn’t help her growing embarrassment either.

The new club president then put her hands on her hips and tried to think of something to say - something _presidential_. Natsuki’s pink eyes then brightened up.

She faced Yuri squarely then raised up her pointer finger as she cheerfully declared,

“Okay, everyone~! This’ll be my first order as the club president!”

She then folded her arms and happily continued,

“I want everyone to go home early today and get a good night’s sleep. Then, we’ll come back to the club tomorrow full of energy!”

Yuri blinked for a moment as she tried to process what Natsuki just said. Then, she started to chuckle,

“Pfft~! Oh dear! Were you, perchance, attempting to mimic Monika just now?”

Natsuki grinned brightly at Yuri and feigned innocence,

“What are you talking about? I was just trying to sound _presidential_.”

The pink-haired girl then joined her pointer fingers together and pouted at Yuri. Then, Natsuki copied Sayori’s voice,

“You big meanie~!”

When Natsuki said this, Yuri broke out into hearty laughter. She was laughing so hard that she got embarrased and covered her face behind her copy of the _Portrait of Markov_.

Seeing Yuri laugh like that was a wonderful sight for Natsuki’s tired eyes.

Perhaps, Natsuki thought, the two of them might be able to make it work.

There were going to be many challenges that awaited them, but Yuri and Natsuki would face them together.

Little did the two girls know, however, that those challenges were already waiting for them around the corner.

* * *

 As Yuri and Natsuki were sharing their lighthearted moment, a figure with a nondescript, female placeholder sprite marched down the school hallway. She was wearing the same uniform as Yuri and Natsuki but she had a peculiar armband pinned to the sleeve of her blazer.

Then, in her hands was a sheet of paper.

It was a notice of disbandment for the Literature Club.

**To Be Continued**


	2. Ultimatum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuri and Natsuki find themselves face to face with an unfamiliar figure in the clubroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~http.HTTPStatus.UNPROCESSABLE_ENTITY (422)~~   
>  ~~http.HTTPStatus.TEMPORARY_REDIRECT (307)~~   
>  ~~http.HTTPStatus.PROXY_USED (305)~~   
>  ~~http.HTTPStatus.RENDERING_PROXY_MEDIA (108)~~   
>  ~~~~  
>  **http.HTTPStatus.CONTINUE (100)**   
> 

Brisk, purposeful footsteps echoed in the hallway as the odd, nondescript placeholder sprite marched through it. With every step that she took, the unremarkable figure’s sprite shifted and grew distinct as her features appeared one after another.

Long, silky black hair sprouted out from her head and then flowed gracefully down to her shoulders. Then, her hair tied itself back into a neat bun and was held in place by a beautiful  _ kanzashi _ hairpin. A string of fragrant lilies then appeared and adorned the hairpin, swaying left and right as the figure walked.

The figure’s sharp brown eyes then rendered and opened beneath her thin eyebrows. A button-like nose appeared next along with a pair of soft, elegant lips that twisted in a troubled scowl.

All the while, the figure simply walked normally. She didn’t seem to be aware of her own sweeping transformation.

Once her sprite was fully rendered, the figure glanced at the sheet of paper in her right hand as she walked. Her brown eyes then turned to the doors in the hallways as she mused to herself,

“Which room was it again?”

As she was searching, she found the open door to the Literature Club’s room. She heard Yuri and Natsuki having a laugh inside of the room, so the figure stopped in her tracks.

That was the room, the figure realized. She stopped in her tracks just paces away from the open threshold. She then took a deep breath to sort out her thoughts. Once she was composed, she tightened her grip on the paper that she had and then marched into the clubroom.

 

.--

...

 

Yuri and Natsuki were still laughing when they realized that the unfamiliar figure entered their clubroom. Their warm, light-hearted moment disappeared in an instant.

Who was this person?

Why was she in the clubroom?

Was this some sort of glitch?

Questions like those brewed in Yuri’s and Natsuki’s minds as they froze in a daze before the figure. Still, the two girls tried to face the figure and steel themselves.

Yuri held her copy of the  _ Portrait of Markov _ firmly and kept her thumb on the pages. She was quietly preparing herself to use her html coding in a heartbeat.

Natsuki, on the other hand, fumbled for her administrative notebook. She shakily flipped through the pages but she suddenly realized - she didn’t know how her notebook worked!

Earlier that day, Monika promised to make a new administrative notebook for Natsuki. The former vice president was also supposed to teach Natsuki how to use it too, but their circumstances changed before she got around to doing that.

Yuri realized Natsuki’s situation, so she stepped forward to shield the pink-haired girl. She then gave Natsuki a sidelong glance and whispered,

“Stay behind me, Natsuki.”

The club president nodded and then hid behind Yuri’s arm.

The figure watched the exchange with a cryptic look. Neither Yuri nor Natsuki could tell what she was thinking. Not sure of what else to do, the quiet novelist faced the unfamiliar ‘guest’ and bluntly asked,

“Who are you? What is your business here?”

The figure tilted her head with curiosity and the string of lilies in her hairpin swayed along with her hair. She seemed to be surprised by Yuri’s question.

After a moment of thought, the figure put her free hand on her hip an answered Yuri with a question of her own,

“You seriously don’t know who I am?”

Yuri didn’t reply. Instead, she held her novel tightly and watched the figure’s every move.

There was no doubt about it, Yuri thought. Their ‘guest’ had a fully rendered sprite just like hers and Natsuki’s. This was the first time that Yuri and Natsuki saw this person, but this person seemed to know them well too.

Yuri and Natsuki knew that other people existed in their world, but they were only implied or mentioned in one way or another - just like Natsuki’s dad. None of them had any lines during the original playthrough. They weren’t supposed to have their own working sprites either.

What exactly was going on!?

While Yuri was racking her brains for answers, Natsuki poked out from behind her. The club president eyed the peculiar armband pinned to the sleeve of the figure’s blazer.

Natsuki saw those kinds of armbands in her manga many times before, so she dared to ask,

“H-hey… you wouldn’t happen to be… part of the student council or something?”

The figure scratched her head when Natsuki asked this. She seemed to be a little disappointed too as she heaved a sigh. Then, after a thoughtful moment, the figure folded her arms and declared,

“I’m Matsuri, the Student Council  _ president _ . It’s already second semester, so you two should at least know who your representatives are by now.”

A shadow hung over Natsuki’s eyes when this ‘Matsuri’ girl replied. Natsuki never really paid much attention to school stuff, so she didn’t really know much about their student council. She didn’t even know her own classmates very well.

Natsuki practically went through school on autopilot and went straight to the Literature Club after sixth period to read her manga in peace.

Yuri, the introverted bookworm, was more or less on the same boat. She was often so engrossed in her novels that the rest of the world seemed uninteresting to her. The fact that she wasn’t fond of dealing with other people didn’t help either.

During the original playthrough, and even during the ‘Post-Credits’ story, Monika and Sayori were the ones who dealt with the student council. There were many forms and paperwork that they had to sign and submit to the council, but neither of the two former presidents made a big fuss of it before.

They imagined Monika as the type who argued with the council president until one of them got what they wanted. Sayori, on the other hand, would have simply smiled while she took everything in stride.

Sayori spoke softly while Monika carried the big stick.

However, that was the past.

Yuri and Natsuki were going to have to deal with troublesome people like Matsuki on their own from now on. They were also going to have to hit the ground running.

While Yuri and Natsuki were still lost in their thoughts, the council president turned to them and continued her spiel,

“In any case. You two are members of the Literature Club, correct?”

She then showed the paper in her right hand to the two and declared,

“I’m here to serve the Literature Club’s notice of disbandment. Please give this to your club president right away.”

Yuri and Natsuki jolted back when they heard this.

Disbandment?

Why was the Literature Club being disbanded?

Natsuki gritted her teeth and she wore a furious expression on her face. She then stomped and blurted out her unfiltered thoughts,

“Disbandment!? What the fuck are you talking about!? Why the hell are we getting disbanded!?”

A look of disgust was etched on Matsuri’s face, but she didn’t flinch. Instead, she raised her brow at Natsuki and sharply warned,

“Our school has rules about language, Ms. Natsuki. I may just have to book you for a demerit if you keep cursing like that.”

“Urk…”

Natsuki felt the student council president getting on her nerves. She clenched her free hand into an angry fist, but Yuri laid a hand on her shoulder. The novelist then calmly intervened,

“Apologies, council president. Natsuki… can be brash at times, you see - but our situation is indeed strange. Would you be so kind as to explain why our club is being disbanded? We… would greatly appreciate it.”

Matsuri turned towards Yuri and hummed with intrigue,

“Fair enough. I’m guessing you’re the one in charge here, Ms. Yuri.”

Yuri shook her head and then patted Natsuki’s shoulders again as she explained,

“Natsuki here is my club president. I was merely speaking on her behalf.”

Matsuri watched the frustrated Natsuki, then the more composed Yuri with disbelief as she compared the two in her head. She couldn’t seem to imagine Natsuki as the club president at all.

After a short while, Matsuri turned to her paper again and laid down her charges,

“Well, it doesn’t really matter who the club president is at this point. The Literature Club doesn’t have enough members to be an official club. The school festival is also next week, so other, more-deserving clubs have been looking for spaces to use - and your clubroom is in a really good spot too. That said, you can consider this notice as an eviction order as well.”

Natsuki furrowed her brow and was about to lash out with profanities again, but she stopped herself halfway through. She tried to imagine how Monika and Sayori dealt with the student council again, hoping for something she could use.

There was no way in hell that she could smile like Sayori did in front of the council president, so Natsuki decided to carry a big stick like Monika too. She straightened up her back and argued as confidently as she could,

“N-now wait a gosh darn minute here, council prez! You guys have records, don’t you? We should have  _ five _ members on that list!”

Matsuri folded her arms and coldly refuted,

“If you had five members - or even four members - I wouldn’t have had to come here in the first place. As for our records, we have them - and I checked them before coming here.”

She then stepped forward, cast a long, oppressive shadow over Natsuki and looked straight into the pink-haired girl’s eyes as she revealed,

“There’s only two names on our records - yours, and Ms. Yuri’s.”

A chill ran up Natsuki’s spine as Matsuri loomed over her. The council president seemed to get more aggressive when Natsuki tried to argue like Monika somehow. It was almost as if Matsuri became a different kind of beast altogether.

Faced with so much pressure, Natsuki staggered backwards. Yuri, however, caught her and dutifully propped her up. The novelist then faced the council president and challenged,

“Are you certain about that? There should be five names on that list. Natsuki, myself, Sayori, Elias… and Monika…”

Matsuri’s eyes sharpened for a moment when she heard the other names, but she kept her silence. Yuri took this as her chance to continue,

“Sayori and Monika were the ones who registered the club, so someone in the student council must have met them. They were the ones who signed and submitted the club paperwork too. Please check those documents again and I assure you that their signatures will be there.”

The council president thoughtfully raised her head and methodically shot down Yuri’s argument point by point,

“There’s nothing more for me to check. ‘Yuri’ and ‘Natsuki’ are the only names that we have in our records. My council secretary and I noticed the deficiency, so we checked your club’s paperwork just to be sure. The papers were all there in our file, but  _ none  _ of them had signatures. Even your registration papers were blank! Only the club member sheet had anything written on it - and it only had two names!”

That time, even Yuri froze in place.

Could it be that Elias, Monika and Sayori were erased from existence entirely?

Were Yuri and Natsuki the only ones who remembered the others at all?

Yuri wondered if she should use her html codes to change the record, but she stopped herself.

The world was still unstable, after all.

They only deleted the glitched classroom just minutes ago. She didn’t know what would happen if she manipulated the html code again.

While Yuri considered her options, Natsuki gathered enough strength to speak again.

The club president stood under Matsuri’s shadow and faced her firmly as she growled,

“If that’s all you’re so hung up about, then we’ll get more members. Two’s gonna be enough, right?”

Matsuri furrowed her brow dismissively when she heard this. The council president then scoffed,

“Correct - two members will be enough. But do you really think that you can get them? You do know that the school festival is already this coming Monday - and it’s already Thursday today!”

Natsuki stood firm and clenched her fists as she bravely bluffed,

“Damn right, we will! And we’re gonna perform in the school festival too!”

Matsuri gave Natsuki a sharp, testing glare, but the pink-haired girl held ground that time. The council president then heaved a sigh and folded the disbandment letter as she conceded,

“Very well. I’ll bite. I’ll even give you a pass on that the demerit you were supposed to earn for your language just now. But you will need to have those two members by tomorrow.”

Natsuki’s jaw dropped as she gasped,

“Tomorrow!?”

“Yes - by tomorrow, after club activities. Don’t even think about forging signatures either since that’s gonna be grounds for a suspension - or even expulsion at worst. Those are my terms. Any complaints,  _ madam president _ ?”

Sweat formed on Natsuki’s brow as she realized the hole that she had just dug for herself and for Yuri. She then managed to stubbornly mutter,

“We’ll.... still get those members… j-just you wait…!”

Matsuri hummed with intrigue as she pocketed the folded notice. She then put her hand on her hip as she added,

“I also expect a full, detailed plan for your presentation by tomorrow. Our festival committee is already working overtime, so you’ll have to pull your weight. If you can do these two things, then you can have your club and your clubroom back. Do we have a deal?”

Yuri joined Natsuki and stood by her side as she assured the council president,

“If those are your conditions, then we accept. We shall hold you to your end of the deal as well.”

Matsuri nodded in acknowledgement and started to make her way towards the door. With her back still turned to the Literature Club, Matsuri then spoke in a patronizing tone,

“Good luck. You’re gonna need it.”

Just as Matsuri was about to cross the threshold, Yuri called her attention,

“Council president!”

Matsuri didn’t turn around, but she stopped at the threshold to ask,

“What is it?”

Yuri took a short breath and then curiously asked,

“Serving notices is the job of your council members, is it not? Why, then, did  _ you _ have to personally serve the Literature Club’s notice?”

Matsuri stood still in thoughtful silence at the threshold. Then, she shook her head and dismissively spat,

“That’s none of your business… and that’s the least of your concerns, Ms. Yuri. The clock is ticking - so you two had better get started.”

With that, Matsuri carried on out of the clubroom, leaving Yuri and Natsuki to wonder just who that ‘Matsuri’ person was.

All they knew was that the council president was like a walking summertime storm who came and went as she pleased, leaving a faint fragrance of lilies in her wake.

**To Be Continued**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:** Hello there again, Elias here! Thanks for reading, and I hope you all enjoyed it as well~! Looks like managing the club isn't going to be a walk in the park for Yuri and President Natsuki - and they don't even have enough members! Matsuri seems to be a tough cookie too, but I hope Yuri and Natsuki can handle it!
> 
> "I dunno... Yuri and Natsuki are gonna have a tough battle ahead of them. That schedule's rough. I would have just used my administrative notebook... though the world was pretty unstable. Hmm..." - Monika
> 
> "Matsuri was also pretty intense, huh? Why did the council president herself have to come to the club? She was pretty nice when I was the one talking to her back then." - Sayori
> 
> "Well, even that witch can't bring herself to be mad at you, Sayo~! Your smile can stop the Third World War, you know!" - Monika
> 
> "Ahehe~ you're flattering me, Moni~!" - Sayori
> 
> Uhm... girls... I'm trying to do the Author's Notes right now.
> 
> "Oh, right! Ahaha~ sorry, Elias. Sayo and I were thinking that we could help out with that a little bit! You don't mind, do you Elias?" - Monika
> 
> Go right ahead!
> 
> "Sweet! Alright then! Thank you for reading the story again. I'm not the author this time around, so I'll be part of the audience like everyone here~! I'll also help out answering the comments too like before ahehe~!" - Sayori
> 
> "And I'll be doing the same! This is kinda fun, actually~!" - Monika
> 
> That's all for now. See you guys next chapter!


	3. Exchange

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuri and Natsuki try to find a way to tackle Matsuri's ultimatum, but they quickly find themselves in a rut.

Deafening silence lingered in the clubroom that late afternoon as Matsuri’s harsh ultimatum was still fresh in Yuri’s and Natsuki’s minds. Just shy of an hour ago, the two girls inherited the Literature Club from Monika and Sayori. Now, that same club was on the verge of disbandment.

Natsuki, the new club president, felt the frustration welling in her heart as Matsuri’s afterimage and sharp words haunted her. She couldn’t take it anymore, so her unfiltered thoughts escaped her lips,

“Damn that Matsuri bitch! Why the hell is she gunning for us like this? She’s singling us out here, isn’t she? Does she hate us or something!?”

Yuri, on the other hand, cradled her copy of the _Portrait of Markov_ while she hung her head low. A myriad of thoughts swirled in the quiet novelist’s mind, so she started thinking out loud,

“I… cannot discern this ‘Matsuri’ person’s motives, but we cannot ignore the fact that she has a fully-rendered sprite like ours. That is the true oddity, I believe.”

She opened her book and studiously flipped through the pages to scan the game files. Yuri then furrowed her brow and repored,

“It is just as I thought. Curiously, ‘Matsuri’ does not have a character file - nor does she resemble any of the unused elements in the game folder. I do not see her on the character list of ‘Post-Credits’ either, so it is hard to say if she is one of Elias’ creations.”

Natsuki groaned and felt dizzy after hearing Yuri’s report. She sat down on one of the clubroom chairs, heaved a tired sigh and then started fanning herself with her administrative notebook. The club president then glanced at her notebook and wondered,

“Hey, Yuri - you think she knows about all of this? About the game and the story and stuff?”

Yuri closed her book and thoughtfully hummed,

“Matsuri did not seem to react when she saw your administrative notebook - or my novel. Perhaps she does not understand the powers that we wield through them. If that is the case, then I doubt that she knows about the Ren’Py engine and the html word processor.”

She then faced Natsuki and concluded,

“Moreover, Matsuri did not use any sort of coding language against us. She spoke in unencrypted English and… she simply performed her duties as the student council president of our school.”

Natsuki sighed as she set down her notebook. She then leaned against the backrest and wistfully looked up to the ceiling and moaned,

“That might be true, but I’m still pissed! She just came out of nowhere and started talking crap to us!”

She then turned to Yuri and asked,

“You think Matsuri has a script or something, Yuri? Something we can mess around with?”

“I do not think so, Natsuki. We have been off-script since Chapter 4 of ‘Post-Credits’, but Matsuri was responding to us naturally during our conversation. A scripted NPC would have continued with her lines, but Matsuri wasn’t like that. Matsuri was speaking _with_ us. She even cut a deal with us - through her terms are grossly unfavorable to us since we are the ones in the wrong.”

Yuri then set down her novel and promptly reminded,

“As much as I wish to ponder more about Matsuri’s nature, we still have our deadline to meet. Given how shrewd Matsuri seemed, I doubt that she would give us another chance.”

Natsuki’s lips twisted with displeasure until a curious thought came to her mind. She then opened her administrative notebook again and found the save files page as she proposed,

“Why don’t we just load up an old game file? Sayori made one on Day Two - Tuesday.”

Yuri went over to Natsuki’s side and looked over the club president’s shoulder. The purple-haired girl studied the lone save file on the list but quickly shook her head, and explained

“Unfortunately, that save file is already corrupted, Natsuki. Monika’s and Sayori’s character files are no longer on the register, so loading that file would most likely provoke an error. Moreover, we only just recently sealed the Void. It’s stability is still questionable, so I suggest using as little code as possible - lest we unleash irreversible damage upon our world.”

Natsuki pouted but she heeded Yuri’s warning and deleted the corrupted save file. The club president then turned to Yuri and asked,

“So… you’re saying that we have to face this Matsuri girl’s challenge head-on.”

Yuri folded her arms and nodded,

“I believe that it would be our safest and most straightforward option.”

Natsuki’s pouting intensified and Yuri started getting flustered. The quiet novelist then started to suggest,

“I know! How about we get started right now and…!”

Before Yuri could finish her sentence, however, the school bell chimed. That chime marked the end of the club activities for the day and stole the rest of Yuri’s thunder.

With that, a tired shadow hung over Natsuki’s eyes. The club president groaned and planted her face on the wooden desk in defeat as she lamented,

“Ungh…! I hate this! I was just bluffing to that bitch, y’know? This whole ‘we’ll get members by tomorrow’ thing, that is. But that bitch called it! How the hell are we gonna get through this without using code, Yuri?”

The quiet novelist found herself at a loss, but she forced herself to think. Then, her eyes brightened up.

Yuri joined her hands behind her back and faced Natsuki to ask,

“Uhm… Natsuki. I would just like to confirm - I am your Vice President now, am I not?”

Natsuki didn’t move her face from the desk when she replied,

“Hmm… I guess you are. You probably won’t be one for long, though...”

Yuri, however, hummed with delight and happily suggested,

“If that is the case, then as vice president of the Literature Club, I would like to propose a vote~! As the vice president of the Literature Club.”

Natsuki promptly lifted her head and watched Yuri’s spiel with bewilderment. Just what in the hell was Yuri going on about?

Yuri, however, was unfazed as she eagerly continued,

“I bring forward President Natsuki’s earlier proposal to depart for the day and relax at our abodes! This will be a ten-second vote. Those in favor, raise your hand!”

The new vice president raised up her hand and Natsuki watched her with a raised brow. However, Yuri encouraged Natsuki with a bright smile.

Natsuki felt her cheeks flush red, but she still managed to slowly raise up her hand. A look of satisfaction then grew on Yuri’s face as she declared,

“The vote is concluded! The ‘ayes’ stand at two and the ‘nays’ are nil. The ‘ayes’ have it! This motion is thereby approved!”

Yuri then knocked on Natsuki’s desk twice, mimicking the strike of a gavel.

As soon as Yuri did this, Natsuki started to snicker. Before long, she was laughing as heartily as she did before Matsuri’s ultimatum.

Natsuki wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes as she joked,

“What is this, Yuri? D-SPAN?”

Yuri chuckled lightheartedly as well, closing her eyes as she covered her mouth. It was at that point that Natsuki realized something.

Yuri was trying to cheer her up.

Natsuki appreciated that, but she couldn’t help but comment,

“You’ve got a really weird way of cheering me up, Yuri.”

The vice president then lowered her hands and smiled at Natsuki earnestly,

“If I have succeeded in cheering you up, then I am happy. That is all that matters to me.”

She then joined her hands behind her back and glanced at the administrative notebook on Natsuki’s desk as she continued,

“Sayori entrusted - no, entrusts - you with the Literature Club and you have promised to take the presidency seriously as well. I simply wish to let you know that you have my trust as well. If you are the one leading us, Natsuki, then I believe that we may find a way forward. Knowing that, I wish to do everything in my power as your vice president to aid you. I want to see you succeed, Natsuki~!”

The club president listened to the novelist with awe, moved by her words,

“... Yuri!”

The vice president then laid her hands over her heart as she suggested,

“Shall we bring this session to a close for now, then? Perchance we can take a moment’s rest as well - just like you prescribed.”

Natsuki grinned and gladly agreed,

“Well, I sure could use a little rest. Let’s go, Yuri!”

This time, Yuri was the one who was suddenly flustered.

“G-go? Y-you wish to g-go to my home and…”

Natsuki stood up from her seat and put her hands on her hips as she clarified,

“To the bookstore, you big dummy~! The really nice one on the road home!”

The club president then noticed Yuri’s silence and hummed,

“Why do you look so disappointed?”

Yuri shook her head and hobbled together a response,

“I-it’s nothing… let’s go to the bookstore, then.”

A small smile then grew on Yuri’s lips as she added,

“I happen to love that place as well, after all.”

 

..-

…

  


Yuri and Natsuki gathered their things from the clubroom and they made their way out into the corridor. The first thing they noticed as they crossed the threshold, however, was the river of students walking through the halls as well. There were dozens of girls and boys with nondescript placeholder sprites that were wearing their respective school uniforms.

Even though Yuri and Natsuki had fully rendered sprites, the other students didn’t seem to pay them any special attention. They were talking amongst themselves and apologized when they bumped into the two girls. Aside from their nondescript placeholder sprites, the other students were living their own lives.

It made Yuri and Natsuki wonder if those other people had always been there all that time and that they were just too preoccupied to notice.

As the two girls made it out of the school building, they caught a glimpse of Matsuri - the only other person with a fully-rendered sprite - out in the distance. She was accompanied by a small army of nondescript students with armbands pinned to their sleeves. They were making their rounds ushering students out of the campus while reminding them about the upcoming school festival.

The sight made Natsuki hum. Matsuri was a student council president through and through, she thought.

Watching from that distance, Natsuki couldn’t help but feel that the council president resembled Monika somehow.

A really stern and bitchy Monika.

Natsuki didn’t want to imagine that any more than she already did.

The club president shook her head as she and Yuri made their way through the school gates. As the crowd of students at the gates grew thick, Natsuki instinctively walked closer to Yuri. Her elbow then lightly brushed against the sleeve of Yuri’s blazer.

The novelist then suddenly stiffened up and became self-conscious. Natsuki noticed her companion’s tension so she asked,

“Something wrong, Yuri?”

The novelist took a moment to compose herself before she bashfully shook her head,

“N-nothing, really… it’s just that… I had a thought just now. T-this is the first time that I have journeyed home with someone.”

Natsuki thoughtfully hummed as she asked,

“Didn’t we go to the bookstore on the first day? I mean in the ‘Our Reality’ story? Elias even went with us.”

“It was only implied that we went to the bookstore, Natsuki. We simply walked out of the clubroom and un-rendered our sprites. ‘Our Reality’ is a story of Monika and Sayori after all.”

“Ah - I guess that’s true…”

Unlike Yuri, Natsuki already walked home with someone before. Back in Chapter 3 of ‘Post-Credits’, she walked along with Monika on the way to Sayori’s house. The pink-haired girl remembered pestering Monika about how she texted with Sayori.

Monika got embarrassed and she promptly hid her phone, but she also explained why Sayori chose her to be the Veep. Natsuki remembered Monika’s words well,

“ _Sayori and I… the two of us have been through a lot._ ”

“ _It’s hard to put it into words, but… Sayori helped me through a dark time in my life._ ”

Looking at it that way, Natsuki felt that she was helping Yuri through a dark time in her life too. Or perhaps there was some unwritten rule somewhere that the president and vice president of the Literature Club were supposed to be helping each other like that.

So, the new club president pensively looked up to the cloudy afternoon sky and suggested,

“Well then, Yuri. How about this? What if we walk home together like this from now on. We’ll get to double time on planning for the club stuff this way. We still gotta plan for that damn festival too, after all.”

She then dug her hands into her blazer pockets and added,

“Even if the club doesn’t make it - we can still walk home together like this. That won’t be so bad huh?”

Yuri joined her hands behind her back and playfully reminded,

“That is a pleasant proposal, but I do not believe that the club will falter. We shall walk home as club officers for the foreseeable future.”

Natsuki snickered in reply,

“Damn, I wish I had your confidence, Yuri!”

“I shall take that as a compliment, President Natsuki.”

Natsuki grinned back at Yuri before she turned back to the sky. She imagined Monika and Sayori walking down that very same path, supporting each other when the two of them still held the club.

The two former presidents left Yuri and Natsuki rather large shoes to fill, but Natsuki wasn’t as worried as she first was. After all, she and Yuri were already starting to move forward.

They were already walking down that road together, side by side.

 

…

…

 

Just minutes away from the school gates, at the heart of the quiet residential district, Yuri and Natsuki spotted a peculiar house that - at first glance - blended in with the others. The only differences that the house had was a fancy wooden bookstore sign pitched on the front lawn and the steady stream of nondescript people walking in and out of the front door.

It was a quaint space that was technically modelled after one of the unused houses in the background images folder, but it was now fully-rendered. Storywise, however, it was just another home in the neighborhood that was converted into a hole-in-the-wall bookstore recently. That bookstore quickly became a town favorite for bookworms and manga-readers alike.

Yuri and Natsuki followed the stream of people into the quaint bookstore. They were then greeted with the warm interior of a large living room turned into a surprisingly spacious store. It paired the adventurous allure and quiet of a library with the welcoming environment of a home.

Rows of bookshelves were lined up neatly along with cozy sofas, desks and coffee tables while the shopkeeper happily stood behind a tabletop cash register. The shopkeeper was yet another nondescript figure, but he welcomed Natsuki and Yuri with a kind wave just like everyone else.

The two girls found their way to the middle of the store and Yuri gently asked,

“What do you wish to do, Natsuki?

Natsuki folded her arms and thoughtfully hummed,

“I’ve been thinking about this for a while now, Yuri. Remember back in ‘Our Reality’... or even back in Act 4 of the original playthrough?”

“What about it?”

The club president turned to her vice president and explained,

“We had a scripted conversation back then. Sayori suggested that we should try expanding our horizons, so I said that i’d give reading novels a try. Then, you said that you’d… uh… read a manga.”

Natsuki felt shy all of the sudden, but she forced herself to continue her suggestion anyways,

“S-so did you want to try that out? Reading manga, that is! I’ll try a novel too!”

Yuri seemed pleasantly surprised as she asked,

“Are you sure about that, Natsuki? You’d… read a novel… for me? It was a scripted conversation, so you do not have to force yourself to...”

Natsuki, however, interrupted and insisted,

“I’m not forcing myself, Yuri. I really do want to give novels a try. I want to get to know my vice president better too. We’ll be running the show from now on, so it’ll be good for us to be on the same page. T-think of it as an exchange or something! The bookstore also lets people read the books here too, so we can take our time and all...”

Yuri listened to Natsuki’s proposal closely and she took a moment to think about it. She then wore a serious expression and replied,

“Very well. Please choose a manga for me to read while I choose a novel for you.”

Natsuki felt a chill run up her spine, but she managed to nod. With that, Yuri darted off to the novels section in a hurry.

When it came to talking about novels, Yuri shed her bashful attitude and got serious really quickly. A smile broke out on Natsuki’s lips as she mused to herself,

“Looks like I’m gonna have to take this thing seriously too~!”

Minutes later, after the two girls combed their book sections, they met up again at the middle of the shop. The pink-haired girl brought out the ‘Director’s Cut’ edition of Parfait Girls Volume 1 complete with 4-paneled omake. Yuri, on the other hand, carried an abridged version of the _Portrait of Markov_ with illustrations and pictures.

Yuri and Natsuki gamely traded their spoils then found themselves a place to sit - a comfy sofa at a quiet corner of the bookstore.

The quiet novelist hummed with intrigue as she read through the first volume of Parfait Girls, surprised by the deceptive depth of the writing. Natsuki, on the other hand, admired the characters in the _Portrait of Markov_ and was drawn into that world by the pictures.

So, for the next hour or so, the two girls just sat together on that sofa and read their books. At that point, Natsuki was so immersed by the novel that she forgot that she was in a bookstore.

It was only when the club president felt a warm weight leaning against her that she was brought back to reality. Natsuki turned towards Yuri and she saw that her vice president had fallen asleep.

That was right, Natsuki thought. Yuri was still tired from their whole ordeal from earlier. There were rings beneath Yuri’s eyes and her long, purple hair was still disheveled.

However, Yuri was cradling the manga that Natsuki picked out for her and she was wearing a small, satisfied smile on her lips.

Natsuki decided to let the bigger Yuri lean on her in peace. The pink-haired girl then softly whispered,

“You don’t have to pretend to be strong all the time, Yuri. You can lean on me from time to time too, you big dummy!”

Yuri mumbled something unintelligible before she sank back into her slumber. Natsuki then smiled and leaned against Yuri too as she continued reading the _Portrait of Markov_.

 

…

…

 

While Yuri and Natsuki were sharing their tender moment, Natsuki suddenly caught a glimpse of something strange in the bookstore.

She saw a peculiar person browsing through the non-fiction section of the store while humming the tune of a certain love song that Natsuki heard before. That person was a girl with a fully-rendered sprite - kind brown eyes behind a pair of glasses, braided red hair and a small, green hairpin adorned with a plastic spider.

Natsuki gasped when she saw that figure and suddenly remembered her name,

“... Amy!?”

**To Be Continued**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author’s Notes:** Hello again, folks! Elias here as always. Ah, it looks like Yuri and Natsuki have are finally finding their rhythm~! Though, I do wonder why Natsuki thought that Matsuri resembled Monika…
> 
> “Hmm… I’m curious too, Moni. What was that about?” - Sayori
> 
> “Ahahaha~ I’m sure Natsuki thought that the council president was presidential and all~!” - Monika
> 
> “Well, that might be true…” - Sayori
> 
> “But isn’t this nice? The world’s coming to life little by little. The other people have placeholder sprites now - even Natsuki’s friend!” - Monika
> 
> “Oh, you mean Amy? Ah… so this is how they met her. I wonder if she knows that Natsuki wrote a poem about her before.” - Sayori
> 
> “Well, there’s only one way to find out, ahaha~! Elias! Submit the next chapter already so we can read it!” - Monika
> 
> Ah… well… that’s not exactly how it works. I have to chart out the starting, middle and endpoints and. But I’m working on it!
> 
> “Good to know~! By the way, Sayori… do you want to… uh, read books at the bookstore like Yuri and Natsuki did?” - Monika
> 
> “R-really? You want to do that too? Well… I-I guess I don’t mind.” - Sayori
> 
> You guys do know that the Author’s Notes is still going on, right?
> 
> Oh, they’re blushing. Ahahaha - ok, I’ll take it from here. Thank you all for reading and see you guys next time~!


	4. Web

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuri and Natsuki meet Amy in the bookstore, but they don't exactly get off to a good start.

What in the hell was Amy doing here!?

That was the question that Natsuki wanted to ask as soon as she saw the mousy, red-haired girl with pigtail braids and glasses who was browsing through the non-fiction shelves of the quaint, hole-in-the-wall bookstore. Once again, the freshly minted club president found yet another person with a fully-rendered sprite - just like the bothersome council president Matsuri from earlier.

Meeting one anomaly in that sea of nondescript people was already a massive pain for Natsuki, so she couldn’t help but imagine what Amy’s beef with the Literature Club was going to be. Was the sheepish, red-haired girl spying on her and Yuri for Matsuri? Was she secretly a main antagonist from Elias’ production notes that didn’t make it into ‘Post-Credits’?

If that was the case, then Amy was doing a particularly bad job.

The mousy girl was so engrossed in reading the titles of the books in the non-fiction that she didn’t even seem to notice the fretting Natsuki and the sleeping Yuri on the couch just ten paces away from her. She was also keeping her back turned to her targets as well.

Natsuki then wondered if Amy would go away on her own.

If Natsuki just sat absolutely still and covered her face behind the abridged  _ Portrait of Markov _ book that she had been reading, she hoped that Amy would do just that.

The pink-haired girl decided give it a try.

She held her breath and mentally shooed the red-haired girl away.

The sleeping, purple-haired bookworm who had been leaning on Natsuki, however, suddenly hugged the club president and dreamily muttered,

“Ah~ so warm~”

At that point, Natsuki started to panic.

Her face flushed bright red as she tried to force herself to stay quiet, but her suddenly clingy vice president wasn’t helping her at all! So, Natsuki gritted her teeth and tried to urge with a whisper,

“Quit it, you big dummy! I-It’s not like I don’t like this… but now’s not the time!”

The sleeping Yuri, however, chuckled when she heard Natsuki’s voice. The vice president then muttered again,

“There’s… never a bad time… for tea~!”

As she was mumbling, Yuri rested her cheek on Natsuki’s head of pink-hair as if it were a pillow. The club president was completely trapped!

Then, just when Natsuki thought her situation couldn’t get any worse, she realized that Amy was already looking at them!

Frustrated by her situation, Natsuki found the strength to push Yuri aside and free herself from the warm yet sudden bearhug.

However, it was already too late.

Amy already saw Natsuki in that awkward position.

The damage had already been done - and Amy seemed incredibly pleased by what she saw.

Yuri was still awakening from her short nap when Amy approached them at the sofa and cheerfully greeted,

“Good afternoon, Natsuki! Fancy seeing you here! Though… I’m not getting in the way of anything, am I?”

Natsuki scowled at the red-haired girl and tried to hobble together an excuse,

“What the hell is going on in your twisted mind, Amy!? We’re just… on an after-school club activity, that’s all!”

Amy chuckled at Natsuki’s defensiveness. She found the pink-haired girl’s pouting to be cute.

It was at that time that Yuri finally managed to speak, albeit groggily,

“Who are you conversing with, Natsuki?”

The purple-haired girl winced and then finally noticed the new person with a working sprite standing before her. She quickly straightened her back, set down the special edition volume of Parfait Girls that she was holding and then glared menacingly at Amy.

That time, Amy’s face went pale and she looked absolutely horrified by what she saw.

Natsuki heaved a sigh and laid a hand on Yuri’s shoulder as she asked her battle-ready vice president to stand down,

“Stop making that freaking scary face, Yuri! This ain’t Act 2 of the game! You’re scaring the living crap out of her!”

Yuri snorted defiantly and wore a stern expression instead as she still grilled the new girl,

“And who might you be, if I may ask?”

Beads of cold sweat formed on Amy’s brow as she tried to recover from seeing Yuri’s scary face just moments ago. She wiped her brow with a yellow handkerchief and sheepishly tried to answer the stern bookworm,

“I-I’m A-Amy… N-Natsuki’s classmate… and seatmate… and… and… I-I… I’m… s-s-sorry...”

There were tears forming at the side of Amy’s eyes and the poor girl was still shaking from her glimpse of psychological horror.

Yuri wasn’t kidding when she said she was terrible with people, Natsuki realized. The frustrated manga-reader sighed again and turned to Amy with a kinder tone,

“Yuri gets much more defensive than I do, Amy. Sorry about that. She just makes that face when she’s agitated.”

Natsuki then elbowed her vice president and urged with a sharp whisper,

“Apologize too, Yuri.”

Yuri still eyed Amy with suspicion, but she went through the motions and apologized scantly,

“You have my apologies.”

Amy gathered as much of her composure as she could and eked out a small nod of acknowledgement. Natsuki then set down the abridged version of  _ The Portrait of Markov _ and asked,

“So, what are you doing here, Amy?”

As soon as Amy heard that question, she regained a bit of her brightness and explained with excitement,

“There’s a new book about spiders from around the world! I heard this store had a copy in stock, and tadah~!”

She showed Yuri and Natsuki the book that she pulled off of the shelves - a Nature book that featured spiders.

A shadow formed over Natsuki’s eyes as she saw that book as she explained to her vice president beside her,

“Amy  _ really _ loves spiders, you see. I wrote a poem about this too, remember? It’s kinda like her obsession…”

Amy managed to smile again as she urged Natsuki,

“But spiders are so cool! I mean, look at the cover! It’s the Brazilian Wandering Spider - doesn’t it look familiar, Natsuki?”

“Familiar? What the heck?”

When Natsuki gave the book cover a second look, her eyes brightened up as she started getting excited herself,

“No way…! That’s the final form of the new bad guy from Parfait Girls Volume 28 - The Fearmonger!”

“I know right!? It’s the crazy guy with the crossbow who jumps around the trees turns into a spider when he gets angry! Oh man! He gave Strawberry Shortcake and Grape Tart the fight of their lives!”

Natsuki then rose up from where she sat and faced Amy as the two of them said in perfect sync,

“And that cliffhanger at the end was crazy awesome!”

Natsuki and Amy then started to laugh while the puzzled Yuri just tilted her head. The purple-haired novelist figured that, in spite of their distance at the start - and the poem that Natsuki once wrote, they actually got along fairly well.

The Literature Club president then put her hands on her hips as she exclaimed,

“Wow, Amy. I never would have thought that you were a Parfait Girl fan too!”

“Well, now you know! Spiders aren’t the only things I like, after all!”

Natsuki snorted heartily then confidently asked,

“By the way, what club are you in, Amy? Yuri and I are part of the Literature Club! If you’re not in any club, then maybe…”

Amy shook her head and sadly interrupted,

“I’m part of the Anime Club - and I happen to be the Vice President too.”

Natsuki clenched her fist in shock as she cursed,

“Damn it!”

The manga-reader frowned as she thought about the Anime Club. That was the club that the Protagonist wanted to join at the start of the visual novel until Sayori convinced him to try out the Literature Club instead.

Natsuki stole a glance at Amy and wondered if she would have had a route if the Protagonist ended up joining the Anime Club instead.

While Natsuki was letting her imagination run, the red-haired girl approached Natsuki with concern as she guessed,

“You wouldn’t happen to be recruiting members at this time of year, are you?”

The pink-haired manga-reader froze in place when Amy asked that question.

Natsuki turned to Yuri, hoping to get some sort of advice from her. However, even the stern bookworm had a troubled shadow over her eyes.

Not sure what else to do, Natsuki bitterly admitted,

“Yeah - we’re recruiting right now, and we’re in one hell of a mess too. Yuri and I went here to let off some steam. Care to hear us vent for a bit, Amy?”

 

**…**

**…**

 

Amy pulled up a chair and sat before Yuri and Natsuki. The two new officers of the Literature Club then carefully recounted the predicament that they were in to the red-haired spider lover.

Of course, Yuri and Natsuki kept the details about Monika, Sayori, the game engine and the word processor out of their story but they told Amy as much as they could. Amy listened sympathetically to the two as they talked about how they suddenly inherited the club from out of nowhere. They also told her about their harsh encounter with the student council president Matsuri.

Once the two had told their tale, Amy scratched the back of her head with her right hand as she kept her eyes glued to the ground. She then sadly commented,

“You guys really are in a tough spot, huh? You even have the council president breathing down your necks too.”

Amy adjusted her glasses with her right pointer and knowingly explained,

“Matsuri’s a really tough cookie and she’s incredibly hard-headed indeed. I guess she got that from being part of the Debate Club.”

Yuri and Natsuki turned to each other, then back to Amy as they asked together,

“Debate Club?”

“Yeah - the Debate Club! It’s the biggest club in school since too and they win a lot of competitions every year. There’s a lot of prestige tied to that club, so it’s a notoriously political group. As you’d expect, Matsuri’s at the top of the food chain there too since she’s the Debate Club’s star and she made a name for herself there. I have some friends in the Debate Club too and they sing praises about Matsuri, but they all say that you shouldn’t get on her bad side!”

When the two remaining members of the Literature Club remembered their encounter with Matsuri, the council president did give off the vibe of a skilled and prideful debater. Once again, Natsuki thought about Monika for a moment.

Wasn’t Monika part of the Debate Club before she made the Literature Club?

Natsuki turned to Amy and carefully tried to probed,

“Say, Amy. Do your friends know about someone named ‘Monika’ who used to be in the Debate Club before? Or a girl named ‘Sayori’ who wanted for form a new club with her?”

Amy shook her head and apologized,

“Sorry, Natsuki. This is the first time that I’ve heard of a ‘Monika’ or a ‘Sayori’. If there was, then I would have known by now.”

“Ah, I see - never mind then.”

Well, it was worth a try, Natsuki consoled herself. It seemed that Monika and Sayori really did disappear - even from Amy’s wide web on the grapevine.

Even then, Natsuki remained hopeful as she turned to her classmate again,

“Anyways - is there any way you can help us out, Amy? Our deadline’s tomorrow after club activities and I’m really at wit’s end here…”

Amy rubbed her chin as she tried to think of an answer. Then, Amy’s brown eyes brightened up as she declared,

“Why don’t you and Yuri drop by the Anime Club tomorrow? We have twelve members, so we might be able to work something out~! I’ll let our Prez know that you guys are coming over. Oh! And one of our members is part of the student council too, so she might be able to help you see what makes Matsuri tick!”

Yuri’s stern expression brightened up as well as she joined her hands together and thanked the spider-lover,

“We are truly grateful for this opportunity, Amy! I apologize for the scowl I gave you earlier. I did not mean to frighten you like I did.”

Amy laughed uncomfortably at first, still remembering the scary face that Yuri wore a while ago. However, she appreciated the more sincere apology from Yuri and reassured,

“It’s okay, Yuri. This is the least I can do. A friend of Natsuki’s is a friend of mine too~!”

Natsuki folded her arms and pouted at Amy. In Yuri’s eyes, it was the kind of look that said,

‘ _ I never said we were friends, Amy. But it doesn’t mean I hate you or anything, okay? _ ’

The pink-haired girl then glared at Yuri with puffed cheeks, making a face that seemed to say,

‘ _ What are you looking at, you big dummy? Jeez! _ ’

That was funny, Yuri thought. She was terrible when it came to dealing with other people, but she seemed to understand Natsuki well enough.

So, Yuri wore a small smile in reply that meant,

‘ _ I’m looking at you, of course. _ ’

Natsuki blushed as soon as she figured out Yuri’s wordless message.

In the midst of their silent exchange, Amy smiled at the two members of the Literature Club. She believed that with just a little bit of work, Yuri and Natsuki were going to be just fine.

 

**…**

**…**

 

The sun had already set when Yuri, Natsuki and Amy wrapped up their chat. The red-haired spider lover excused herself to buy her Nature book and then carried on to her home. That left the two members of the Literature Club alone in their corner of the bookstore once more.

Natsuki then turned to her vice president and eagerly grinned,

“When we meet the Anime Club tomorrow, I want to put our best foot forward, Yuri! We’re gonna be asking them for a favor, so I was thinking we should at least bring something for them.”

Yuri thoughtfully hummed until she cheerfully suggested,

“I can probably prepare a thermos of jasmine tea for the meeting!”

“Ooh~! Great idea! Maybe I could bring my entire collection of Parfait Girls too - just to sweeten the deal for them a bit!”

The club president then rubbed her chin as she racked her brains,

“But we’ve gotta hit this out of the park! We need some icing on the cake to make this work…”

As Natsuki was thinking, Yuri’s eyes wandered over to a nearby bookshelf where she saw a peculiar book in the cooking section. The dish featured on the cover were cupcakes with homemade chocolates.

The purple-haired girl turned to Natsuki again and took her club president’s hands in hers as she proposed,

“Cupcake diplomacy. Let us engage in cupcake diplomacy!”

“Eh? Cupcakes!?”

“Indeed, Natsuki! Your cupcakes are most delicious and they are potent weapons in a negotiation! Bethink of our very first encounter with the Protagonist. He elected to join the Literature Club over the Anime Club because of your cupcakes!”

Natsuki wanted to argue that the Protagonist stayed because the Literature Club was ‘full of incredibly cute girls’, but Yuri didn’t give her a chance to speak. Instead, the impassioned novelist placed her hands over her heart as she wholeheartedly continued,

“Your cupcakes have already changed the course of history once in that regard. Perchance your cupcakes can change the course of history again!”

The club president took in Yuri’s dorky spiel and laughed heartily.

Yuri was getting worked up over the cupcakes that Natsuki baked in the past. While Natsuki really was proud of her baking skills, she wasn’t sure if her cupcakes were influential enough to change history.

Was this Yuri’s roundabout way of saying she really liked those cupcakes?

If that was the case, then Natsuki smiled as she played along,

“Alright then, Yuri. I’ll change history with those cupcakes again, but I’m gonna need your help!”

Yuri eagerly nodded and promised,

“I shall offer my blood, sweat and tears to help you succeed!”

A look of disgust quickly swept over Natsuki’s face as she demanded,

“Please put none of those in the cupcakes, Yuri.”

“Eh? Ah… that was merely my way of saying that I shall give my full effort…”

“I know, but I just had to make sure.”

“O-okay.”

Natsuki then folded her arms and saw the book that Yuri was looking at earlier,

“You wanted to make those chocolate cupcakes from that book over there, right? I’ve got that same book at home and - like I said - I’ll need some help to get those cupcakes ready.”

The club president then grinned at her vice president and asked,

“So, wanna come over my place for a bit, Yuri?”

Yuri smiled back at Natsuki and nodded as she replied,

“It would be my honor.”

**To Be Continued**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author’s Notes:** Oh my, oh my - Yuri and Natsuki really are close now! Thankfully, Amy turned out to be a really nice and helpful person. Maybe she and Natsuki really are friends after all!
> 
> “Yeah! The both of them like Parfait Girls too~! I had a feeling they got along well.” - Sayori
> 
> “Ahaha~ yup! It looks like Natsuki is a tsundere to everyone - even her friends.” - Monika
> 
> “That’s just the way she is, Moni~!” - Sayori
> 
> “By the way - that Brazilian Wandering Spider thing and Parfait Girls Vol. 28 thing… I have a feeling that I’ve seen those before somewhere. In a different context, of course - but they feel awfully familiar. Hey, Elias.” - Monika
> 
> What’s up?
> 
> “Where did those things come from? What was the inspiration?” - Monika
> 
> Oh - well, the Brazilian Wandering Spider. Well, I just read about them somewhere before. It was something that I thought a spider lover like Amy would like - and totally not from another video game. And there’s a lot of interpretations for the Parfait Girls, but I see them as magical girls! But let’s stop talking about that before I have to add those tags to this fanfic, okay?
> 
> “Okay!” - Monika & Sayori
> 
> But you guys should hear about the other members of the Parfait Girls team! I have this idea you see - there’s Blueberry Cheesecake and Green Tea Macaron and…
> 
> “Okay, everyone! Let’s move on before Elias starts rambling about his other projects! It’s time for the rest of the authors notes!” - Monika
> 
> “Yup, yup! Yuri’s gonna be going to Natsuki’s house - I wonder what’s gonna happen there.” - Sayori
> 
> “Also, those two are gonna try and bake their way into the Anime Club’s hearts! Natsuki’s cupcakes are great, so it’ll be a home run for sure!” - Monika
> 
> That’s all for now~! Thanks again for reading and see you all next chapter!


	5. Cupcakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuri goes with Natsuki to her house to make cupcakes, but things don't exactly go according to plan.

Streetlights in the suburban area were already starting to flicker on as Yuri and Natsuki left the quaint, hole-in-the-wall bookstore. The two girls were headed to Natsuki’s house where they planned to bake cupcakes for their meeting with the Anime Club the next day.

Natsuki was giddy as she went over their plans for the Anime Club meeting again with Yuri, but the quiet bookworm had her thoughts elsewhere.

Yuri’s purple eyes wandered to the nighttime suburb and to the swathes of nondescript people who were homebound as well.

Their world really was expanding, Yuri thought.

When they took a turn at an intersection right before Sayori’s and the Protagonist’s houses, neither Yuri nor Natsuki had to unrender their sprites like they used to.

Instead, they simply kept on walking.

The path continued seamlessly too as the girls drew further and further away from the main road that they saw in the ‘residential.png’ background image.

Natsuki noticed her vice president’s wandering eyes, so she smiled as she recounted,

“You know, Yuri, Monika and Sayori told me something after we had dinner together last night. They said that one of the goals they had in mind was to keep this digital world of ours going. This is just a guess… but maybe giving everyone sprites like this and rendering everything - and I mean, everything - is part of that.”

Yuri thoughtfully hummed and pondered for a moment before she decided to agree,

“That may be a reasonable assumption, Natsuki. Populating the world with sprites like this does, at least, give the image of a world coming to life. We do have our lives outside of the Literature Club that were only implied in the game, after all… like my collection of knives, and...”

As Yuri was speaking, she and Natsuki passed by a small house. There, a nondescript father was coming home to his nondescript wife and to their nondescript little daughter. The three figures cheerfully held hands as they went inside their home together as a family.

Natsuki watched that family with longing eyes, but she didn’t say a word.

As soon as the two girls passed by that house, the club president turned her eyes back to the road. Then, she changed the topic and started talking about the cupcakes they were going to bake again as if nothing had happened.

The shy bookworm, however, still felt the longing air hanging around Natsuki.

Yuri walked closer to the club president and thought about what she could do to reassure her. The tall girl wondered if she should reach out and hold Natsuki’s hand, but she hesitated.

Before Yuri could muster the courage to try again, however, Natsuki stopped in her tracks and Yuri followed suit.

The vice president then saw that they had reached the end of the road. There was a small, bungalow-type home that was dwarfed by all the other two-story houses nearby.

The pink-haired girl folded her arms and proudly introduced,

“We’re here, Yuri - my house. It’s getting late, so let’s get cracking on those cupcakes~!”

 

...

...

 

Yuri and Natsuki let themselves into the one-story home and they head straight for the kitchen.

Just like the house itself, the kitchen was quite small but there was a coziness to it that Yuri couldn’t put her finger on. The equipment that she found there were a little old, but they were well-maintained and well-used.

The vice president had a lot of questions swimming in her mind, but she never found a chance to ask them as Natsuki eagerly dug through the drawers. Natsuki then brought out two light pink aprons and handed one to Yuri.

The cupcake baker, however, warned her drafted assistant,

“That apron might be a little small, Yuri, but it’s the best I can do for now.”

The bookworm sheepishly nodded and thankfully took the apron. When she tried to put on the apron, though, Yuri realized that Natsuki wasn’t kidding about the apron being small - especially around her chest area.

Natsuki was putting on her own apron when she saw Yuri’s ‘predicament’. The club president put her hands on her hips and pouted as she watched Yuri struggling with the apron and her bad ‘posture’.

The baker then heaved a sigh and instructed,

“Just loosen the strap so that it’s not so tight fitting. It’ll be uncomfortable if you keep it like that.”

Yuri clumsily loosened her apron and hung her head low in shame as she joined Natsuki at the kitchen counters. The pink-haired president, however, promptly put her taller helper to work right away.

 

...

...

 

The new Literature Club’s baking campaign started with a frantic few minutes of bringing out baking ingredients and prep-work. Before Yuri knew it, she had been swept up by the organized chaos in Natsuki’s kitchen.

When it came to baking, it seemed, Natsuki was just as serious as she was about manga. Yuri learned that the hard was as she got shouted at from time to time when she made a few small mistakes. Once she got the hang of things, though, it turned out to be quite a fun experience for her too.

At the back of Yuri’s mind, she thought that she was having a glimpse of the Natsuki route of the main playthrough. It made her feel jealous of the kind of view that the Protagonist got in that scene when Natsuki went to his house.

Could it be that Yuri would find herself in that situation too - pushing Natsuki against the wall when the president had cupcake batter on her finger?

Probably not.

That thought, however, did get Yuri more excited than she wanted to admit.

When Yuri started thinking about the game again, though, her mind wandered back to the many worries that she still had about their situation - especially Natsuki’s.

After they put the batch of cupcakes into the oven, Yuri took a step back and scanned the small kitchen again.

She thought about the implied problems that Natsuki was supposed to have in Act 2 of the game out of genuine concern. An abusive father who starved Natsuki and kept her malnourished was a thought that Yuri simply couldn’t accept.

Perhaps, Yuri thought, she should also make some dinner for the two of them - just for that evening at least. The purple-haired knife collector was still a novice baker, but she knew a thing or two about cooking meals.

It would have been the first time that Yuri ever cooked for anyone, but she was willing to take that chance with Natsuki. She wouldn’t even mind if having dinner with Natsuki became a part of her routine.

As a matter of fact, she would have liked that.

Just as Yuri was about to ask Natsuki about dinner, she suddenly heard someone enter through the front door of the house. Then, she heard footsteps in the hall heading for the kitchen!

The vice president whirled around to face the door to the kitchen in a panic and prepared to defend herself. Natsuki, however, didn’t seem to budge as she kept watch over the cupcakes in the oven. Didn’t she hear the footsteps!?

In any case, Yuri scoured the kitchen and searched for a kitchen knife she could wield. Instead managed to get her hands on Natsuki’s administrative notebook that was lying on the counter.

That would have to do, she thought.

She steadied her breath, opened the notebook to the special commands page. Yuri knew the Act 2 glitches well and she was confident enough in her coding skills too. She figured that if she could fight toe-to-toe with the veteran Monika, she could fight anyone in their digital world.

Even though Yuri told Natsuki that they shouldn’t use code in their unstable situation, Yuri had a bad feeling about the person who entered Natsuki’s house. If using Python code would protect Natsuki, then Yuri was prepared to make an exception to that rule.

Then, the kitchen door knob turned and the figure who entered the house gently opened the door.

 

...

...

 

The door swung open unceremoniously as Yuri found herself face to face with a middle-aged man. He had a fully-rendered sprite, just like Matsuri and Amy, but he was wearing a white, double-breasted chef’s coat. His hair was short, pink and combed back neatly.

The man had brown eyes that stared back at Yuri’s purple, unfazed by her defensive stance. Instead, he had a standoffish expression that wouldn’t be out of place on Natsuki’s face on a bad day.

More than that, the man was shorter than the purple-haired, novel-reading giant before him - but his presence seemed to tower over Yuri regardless.

Yuri froze before the man while Natsuki kept her back turned to him. The pink-haired baker noticed his presence and greeted him without even looking,

“Yo, Dad.”

The father nodded meagerly, even though his daughter wasn’t looking at him. He then turned back to the purple-haired stranger in his kitchen and asked,

“Nats. She’s your friend?”

Natsuki squatted down before the oven and answered,

“Yup - she’s my Veep from the Literature Club.”

“Hmm… that so? Didn’t know you were having someone over, Natsuki.”

“Well, you only said that you didn’t want guys over. I didn’t break any rules, did I, dad?”

Natsuki’s dad hummed and put a hand on his hip, conceding that point to his daughter. He then faced Yuri and extended his right hand to her,

“I’m Akihiko, Natsuki’s dad. Nice to meet you.”

Yuri clumsily fumbled around with the administrative notebook before she set it down. She managed to shake the hand of Natsuki’s dad and introduce herself to him. Once she did, Akihiko raised up the plastic bag that he was carrying in his left hand and asked,

“Are you gonna be joining us for dinner, Ms. Yuri? It’s just leftovers from my workplace though.”

The tall girl was still in a daze from her encounter, but she managed to reply with a sheepish nod.

 

...

...

 

Later that evening, once they brought the cupcakes out of the oven, Yuri and Natsuki took off their aprons and admired their handiwork. They then helped set up the square dining table and joined Natsuki’s father for dinner - stir fried vegetables and meatloaf.

As soon as they sat at the table to eat, Yuri quickly noticed the lack of affection between the father and daughter. Akihiko wolfed down his share of the meatloaf in silence and had a small beer can at his side. Natsuki, on the other hand, ate her food but her mind seemed to be elsewhere.

It was a little hard to settle into that sort of atmosphere, but Yuri willed herself to try and eat as well. Once she did, she found herself pleasantly surprised.

The food was pretty good! The stir-fry was seasoned well and carried the flavor of the soy sauce and spices well while the meatloaf rivaled a full-fledged Hamburg steak on every front!

The bookworm couldn’t believe that the food on her plate was something that passed for ‘leftovers’.

Still, Yuri thought about the gripes that Natsuki had with her father. There was definitely an enmity between them, but Yuri didn’t find any signs of the outright Act 2 malice that Yuri expected to find.

 

...

...

 

A little while ago, while the girls were still baking the cupcakes, Natsuki explained what she thought about her situation to Yuri,

“I’ve been thinking about that whole Act 2 shit for a while now, you know. I really think that a lot of that crap happened because Monika didn’t really make an effort to get to know us in the original playthrough. All she thought about was the Protagonist - or the Player… or Elias… or whatever!”

Natsuki watched the cupcakes rising in the oven as its warm glow reflected off of her thoughtful eyes. The pink-haired baker then explained,

“In this reality of ours - or in this new playthrough, if you will - my dad’s a cook at a family restaurant nearby. Our budget’s been tight for a while now ever since I lost my mom, so dad works a lot of overtime to make ends meet. He brings home leftovers from the restaurant so we’re not exactly _starving_ , but we hardly see each other and he’s stressed out 140% of the time. We’re not close, like, at all.”

The club president then stood up, dusted her light pink apron and then walked over to her school bag on the kitchen counter. She brought out a plastic-wrapped cookie and handed it to Yuri.

The tall baker’s assistant took the cookie and noted,

“This is the same kind of cookie that you gave to Monika and Sayori earlier today…”

Natsuki nodded and wore a rare smile of admiration as she answered,

“These cookies are from that family restaurant. Dad baked them.”

“Your father did!?”

Natsuki promptly tiptoed and covered Yuri’s lips with her free hand to shush her. When the bookworm agreed to stay quiet, Natsuki shyly admitted,

“Once upon a time, when things were still good for us - and when our family was still whole - my dad was the one who first taught me about baking. But nowadays… the two of us are so far apart that it’s frustrating.”

When the petite president realized what she was saying, she grew defensive and lashed,

“Never mind what I said, Yuri. Okay? Help me get these cupcakes out of the oven so we can have dinner.”

 

...

...

 

Back at the table, Yuri watched the distant father and daughter again. Akihiko was already nursing his second can of beer while Natsuki was saving her share of meatloaf for her last few bites.

Yuri looked down at her own plate of delicious food that contrasted the atmosphere at the dining table. From where she sat, Yuri could tell that the two of them wanted to reach out to each other - but the both of them were too prideful to take the first step.

The novelist knew that she promised Natsuki to stay quiet, but Yuri couldn’t help herself as she started to speak,

“Uhm… Mr. Akihiko. This food is wonderful. I have nothing but praise for it.”

Natsuki and her father turned to the purple-haired girl who broke the silence. The club president started to worry about what Yuri was planning to do while the family restaurant chef hummed with intrigue. He then answered with a tipsy lisp,

“Y’think so, Ms. Yuri. I’m flattered.”

The cupcake baker tried to kick Yuri’s leg beneath the table to try and shush her again, but she couldn’t reach her vice president. Once Yuri realized she was out of Natsuki’s strike zone, she continued,

“Natsuki thinks so too.”

The pink-haired president glared angrily at Yuri, but the vice president stayed her course. Akihiko then opened a third can of beer and then leaned back into his chair as the man of few words finally aired his honest thoughts,

“Y’don’t mind if this old man rambles for a bit, do ya, Nats? Ms. Yuri?”

Natsuki wanted to refuse, but Yuri beat her to the punch once more,

“Please go ahead, Mr. Akihiko.”

The family restaurant chef took a sip of his beer and then started to recount in his increasingly prominent accent,

“I’ve been thinking for a while now about our situation - me and Nats, that is. I don’t like it - I really don’t. I’ve been a shit dad who is hardly there for his daughter…”

The pink-haired girl tried one more time to end the conversation, but Akihiko turned to his daughter and honestly spoke,

“But when I saw you and Ms. Yuri bakin’ a while ago, I remembered the first time I taught ya’ how to make cupcakes. Goddamn it, I miss those times…”

He took a long swig of beer and set the can on the table as he continued with a tipsy yet determined voice,

“I haven’t told you yet, Nats, but I’ve been savin’ money from work. If I bust my ass a little, I can get a promotion and replace that whiny manager in our shop. I’ll get to kick some serious ass in the kitchen too! Though - that might mean I’ll have to be workin’ harder and harder than I’ve ever done before, yeah?”

Suddenly, there was a youthful twinkle in the middle-aged man’s once-tired eyes as he declared,

“Once I’ve got the dough, I’ll open a shop right here in this house - a cafe! It’ll be just like the one yer mama used to talk about! It’ll be jolly good! If you and Ms. Yuri think that my cooking’s good enough too, this might actually work. And if it does, we’ll be bakin’ together - just like old times, yeah?”

Natsuki was stunned with awe. Then, before she realized it, there were tears forming at the sides of her eyes.

In that one moment, the pink-haired baker caught a glimpse of the lively father that she used to have. A small yet tearful smile formed on her lips as she turned to her father for the first time that evening. Then, she spoke earnestly,

“I’ll… I’ll look forward to that, pops! I really will! Go do what you have to do. You don’t have to worry about me.”

The petite president then turned to Yuri and beamed at her as she added,

“I won’t be alone anymore, after all.”

Akihiko nodded to his daughter before he turned to Yuri as well. Then, he made a curious request to his purple-haired guest,

“Ms. Yuri.”

“Y-yes, Mr. Akihiko!?”

“Until I can get my act together, I’ll be leaving my Nats in your care. Take good care of her, y’hear?”

The purple-haired bookworm suddenly grew flustered. She fidgeted about while she stammered,

“I-I may be i-inexperienced, but… I will do what I can for Natsuki’s sake!”

Natsuki’s father nodded with a satisfied smile and said,

“Thank you. I mean it.”

With that, the three of them carried on with their meal in brighter, livelier spirits.

 

...

...

 

After dinner, the three of them cleared the table and Akihiko excused himself to retreat to his bedroom down the hall. That left Yuri and Natsuki alone in the kitchen as they packed up the freshly baked cupcakes that they made together.

The vice president gazed at the cat-shaped frosting and smiled as she heaved a sigh of relief,

“I am honestly glad that your father did not turn out to be as malicious as I anticipated.”

“I’m pretty glad too, Yuri. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I went home yesterday after having dinner with Monika and Sayori, to be honest. But Yuri… come here for a second.”

“What is it, Natsuki?”

When Yuri approached her club president, Natsuki lightly kicked Yuri’s shoe and grumbled,

“That was for earlier, Yuri. You said you were gonna keep quiet about what I said…”

“Natsuki, I…”

The pink-haired girl then looked up to the troubled vice president as she beamed,

“But I’m kinda glad that you did that… you big dummy~!”

“Natsuki…!”

“Next time, though, let me know if you’re hatching something up.”

“Duly noted, President Natsuki!”

The purple-haired girl then turned to the cupcakes again and mused,

“Though - I am quite surprised. I did not expect that there was a story to these cupcakes of yours too, Natsuki.”

“And it’s a story that you’re going to keep to yourself from now on, Yuri. **Is. That. Clear?** ”

Yuri buckled under the terrifying presence of the petite president as she reassured her with a nod. It must have been something she inherited from her father, the bookworm figured.

Then, the club president snapped her out of her fanciful speculation and called her by name,

“Yuri.”

“W-what is it, Natsuki?”

The pink-haired girl smiled earnestly at Yuri and promised,

“Tomorrow, we’ll save the Literature Club for sure. I’ll be giving it everything I’ve got - and I’ll be counting on you again too.”

Yuri nodded firmly and eagerly replied,

“You can always count on me, President Natsuki.”

**To Be Continued**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author’s Notes:** Hey guys, sorry for the long delay! I’ve been busy putting the finishing touches on another series of mine, but I finally found time to write a little more Waiting for Ribbons in the Void! In this chapter, we get to see Yuri and Natsuki making cupcakes - and we get to meet Natsuki’s dad too!
> 
> “Ahahaha~ I’m quite embarrassed about the way I painted Natsuki’s dad in Act 2… though I’m ashamed of everything I did in Act 2 as a whole.” - Monika
> 
> “At least this time around, Natsuki has a decent dad. I’m happy for her~!” - Sayori
> 
> “Looking back at it, though, Natsuki confronted her dad after the three of us had dinner at your place Sayori.” - Monika
> 
> “Oh, she did, didn’t she?” - Sayori
> 
> Looks like the two of you really left a good impression on Natsuki, girls~!
> 
> “Ahehe~ you’re flattering us, Elias! Natsuki has been strong-willed to begin with. She just needed a little bit of a push.” - Sayori
> 
> “Plus, she’s got Yuri on her side. Tough girl, that Yuri.” - Monika
> 
> “I know, right~?” - Sayori
> 
> Well, that’s all for now! See you all at the next chapter!


	6. Face

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuri and Natsuki prepare to meet with the Anime Club.

Natsuki still remembered yesterday’s scene in the glitched classroom clearly - the scene where Sayori bravely faced the Void as she tried to save Monika.

The sights, the sounds and the feeling of unearthly winds blowing against Natsuki’s face were burned into her memory like a lucid dream.

Even though Natsuki was already awake, that dream lingered in the eye of her mind. Her frightened heart was beating hard against her chest too.

She still wished that things didn’t have to turn out that way.

Dawn was already starting to break that Friday morning, but Natsuki only barely got a few winks of sleep. Her unkempt, untied pink hair was strewn about on her pillow where she laid.

Her heart was racing and her mind was swamped by her ever-growing to-do-list to save the Literature Club.

Just like Sayori, Natsuki was preparing to dive into her own Void. She too didn’t know if she was going to succeed.

Thinking about Sayori, Natsuki sat upright on her bed and then reached under her pillow. There, she found the former president’s final gift to her - the administrative notebook.

Natsuki opened the notebook in the dim light of her room then skimmed through the pages. There was a litany of code and commands that were written in Monika’s handwriting with just a handful of notes from Sayori here and there, translating the first club president’s Python jargon.

Reading through those notes made Natsuki wonder if Sayori was just as inexperienced as her when she chose to become the club president. If that was true, then that didn’t stop Sayori from doing what she felt was right.

Moved by that thought, Natsuki closed the notebook and then laid it against her forehead. She closed her eyes too as she tried to gather her courage as she repeatedly chanted to herself,

“You’re President Natsuki. President Natsuki. President Natsuki!”

As she did so, she imagined Sayori doing the exact same thing in the mornings when she was still the club president. That thought brought a small smile to Natsuki’s lips, so she decided,

“I’ll have to do my best too.”

Spurred by her motivation, Natsuki hopped off of her bed and was about to start getting ready for school when she noticed something strange.

There was a shifting silhouette on her bedroom curtains.

It was in the shape of a person standing outside her window!

Natsuki tensed up as she held her breath and crept towards her curtains. All the while, she held her administrative notebook firmly in one hand.

The pink-haired president didn’t have a clue about how to use the notebook, but she had to at least act like she did.

Once Natsuki reached for the curtains, she parted them wide open and confronted the person behind the window. The cupcake baker then gasped,

“Yuri!?”

Natsuki’s vice president was standing outside in a curious state, holding onto her copy of the Portrait of Markov. She was panting heavily. Her long, purple hair was disheveled and there were beads of sweat on her brow.

She looked like someone who had just sprinted a mile.

Natsuki promptly opened her bedroom window and remarked with disbelief,

“What the heck are you doing here? You look like a stalker!”

The winded Yuri was taken aback by Natsuki’s comparison, so she furiously denied,

“Alas, I cannot be a stalker…! Hah... I would certainly… hah... not wish to involve myself with such seedy activities.”

However, she also whispered beneath her breath,

“Though your sleeping face… hah... hah... and your bedhead… hah…”

“What was that?”

“N-nothing! Hah… hah... N-nothing at all! P-please do not concern yourself with it! Hah… hah... Tis’ just a ramble!”

Once Yuri finally caught her breath, she faced Natsuki and finally explained,

“I was on my way here to pick you up when I heard shouting coming from your bedroom. I was afraid that something might have been amiss!”

Natsuki suddenly blushed. The ‘shouting’ that Yuri heard was Natsuki trying to motivate herself for the day ahead.

The manga-reader brushed Yuri’s concern away and tried to reassure,

“Jeez, you big dummy. That wasn’t such a big deal…”

“It is a big deal for me, Natsuki!”

“Eh?”

Natsuki then saw Yuri looking straight into her eyes as she passionately explained,

“You are a big deal for me. In more ways than one, you are the only one that I have left.”

“Yuri…”

The vice president leaned over to the windowsill and then laid her hands on Natsuki’s shoulders as she reminded,

“You are Sayori’s successor - and I promised her and Mr. Akihiro that I would protect you! If anything bad happened to you… If I lost you... I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself! I don’t know if I’d be able to carry on! I wouldn’t even be able to face Monika and Sayori again if they ever came back!”

Natsuki watched the often soft-spoken Yuri’s wholehearted confession with a compassionate eye. The club president felt the tension in Yuri’s heart from the words that she spoke and the trembling hands laid on her shoulder.

The cupcake baker then laid a hand on one of Yuri’s and then reassured,

“I didn’t mean to brush you off, Yuri. I’m glad that you came to check up on me… but I want you to know that you can lean on me too. I want to be strong enough to protect us both - as your club president, and as your friend.”

She then looked straight into Yuri’s eyes as well and added,

“I don’t know if I could go on if you disappeared too.”

“Natsuki…!”

Natsuki nodded and then happily changed the topic,

“Now that that’s off my chest, I’ll get ready to go in a few. In the meantime, you’ll be carrying the cupcakes, right? They’re in the kitchen.”

“It would be my pleasure. Excuse me.”

When Yuri said that, however, she started clambering up the windowsill without a second thought! She was like a racoon climbing over a hedge.

Natsuki gasped and blocked off her strange vice president,

“What the heck are you doing, you big dummy!? Just use the back door like a normal person - it’s unlocked. Oh, and take off your shoes too!”

“R-right… excuse me, then.”

Once Natsuki corrected her, Yuri sheepishly sauntered over to the back door of the cupcake baker’s house.

Natsuki watched her vice president drag crossing through her backyard and heaved a sigh,

“Why do I get the feeling that _I’m_ the caretaker here…?”

It made her wonder what kind of quirks Sayori had to deal with when Monika was her vice president. For some reason, she imagined it had something to do with excessively cheesy lines.

In any case, Natsuki closed her window and then went over to a mirror. She then grinned at her own reflection and declared,

“We’re saving the Literature Club today, President Natsuki!”

 

**…**

**…**

 

Yuri and Natsuki took their time walking down the road to school that morning at a leisurely pace. The sun had only risen a little while ago, so the two had a lot of time to burn.

The tall novelist carried the tray of cupcakes while the petite president walked beside her, flipping through the pages of her administrative notebook. All the while, Yuri helped Natsuki learn how to wield Python code in her administrative notebook.

Even though Yuri was a novice html coder, she learned about Python code the hard way when she fought Monika. Her memory of the fierce battle with the first club president lingered in her mind as she taught Natsuki what she knew - from scene transitions to background music and commands that affected the sprites themselves.

When the topic turned to deleting, however, Yuri felt a knot form in her heart. The maddened way she taunted Monika and forced her hand in their encounter still stung her conscience.

Natsuki noticed that guilt too, but she held her tongue. It was still going to be a long while before they made peace with the things that happened yesterday after all.

Those were things that they were going to have to iron out with Monika and Sayori - if and when they return.

While Natsuki was deep in thought, she suddenly bumped into another person and knocked a coffee can off of her hands.

“... oof!”

In a split second, time seemed to slow down as Natsuki saw the can of hot, black coffee looming over her off-balanced body.

The coffee was going to spill on her!

Yuri, however, reflexively dashed forward and caught the coffee can in midair before it could do any damage. She then handed the coffee back to its disoriented owner with scant politeness,

“Here.”

Natsuki was getting her bearings when she promptly apologized to the person,

“Sorry about that! I wasn’t looking where I was going and…”

Then, the petite president stopped.

When Natsuki raised up her head, she realized that she bumped into none other than the student council president - Matsuri!

Matsuri indifferently reclaimed her coffee can and stepped away from the members of the Literature Club. Then, with her back turned to the two, she coldly reminded,

“I hope you haven’t forgotten about the deadline - today after club activities. It’s not too late to back out. Nobody would blame you if you did.”

Natsuki clenched her fists and barked at the council president’s back,

“We’re not backing down, council prez! We’ll get those members! You’ll see!”

Matsuri just took a sip of her black coffee and dismissively kept walking down the road, leaving the Literature Club members behind to stew in the silence.

 

…

…

 

“Guh, that Matsuri bitch really has some nerve! I already apologized and all too!”

Natsuki was still fuming when she and Yuri reached the doors of the cupcake baker’s classroom.

Yuri was fretting about what to say to her club president when Natsuki was grumbling and cursing Matsuri’s very existence.

Still, Yuri tried to calm her president down,

“Natsuki. We both know that Matsuri harbors an unusual enmity towards us. This is to be expected.”

“I know that, Yuri… but I’m still wondering why the hell she’s like that. Matsuri and Monika were both in the Debate Club, so I have a feeling that there’s more to this ‘ultimatum’ of hers than just enforcing school rules. And that black coffee...”

“Coffee?”

Natsuki hummed but she somehow lost her train of thought. Frustrated by her elusive thoughts, she brushed Yuri’s curiosity away and put her hands on her hips as she reminded,

“We’re gonna keep on going as planned, Yuri. Keep those cupcakes safe - we’ll need them for our meeting with the Anime Club.”

Yuri decided to oblige.

The tall novelist dutifully nodded and bid her club president farewell. She then brought the tray of cupcakes along with her down the hall.

Natsuki heaved another sigh before she entered her own classroom and found her seat. She set down her school bag and then plopped down onto her chair.

 _Another school day_ , Natsuki thought. She was planning to coast through it all just like she always did.

In all honesty, Natsuki wanted to skip class entirely if she had the chance. The time that she spent in the Literature Club really was all that mattered to Natsuki on a school day, after all.

The other people in the classroom were faceless, generic characters too who paid Natsuki no attention and Natsuki paid no attention to them.

If only their world wasn’t in a sensitive state, Natsuki would have flipped open her administrative notebook right there and then to start a scene transition.

However, she had to make do with hiding her manga behind her school books like she always did.

Her plan to sink into the background, however, was promptly interrupted when the fully rendered sprite of the spider-loving seatmate approached her.

The pink-haired president kept her eyes on her manga but she greeted her seatmate,

“Mornin’ Amy.”

The bespectacled girl’s brown eyes shone with delight when she heard Natsuki speak. She then smiled and faced the cupcake baker to reply,

“Ah! Good morning to you too, Natsuki!”

Amy adjusted her black-rimmed glasses and noted,

“This is kind of new, hehe.”

“Huh? What is?”

“Well - after all the time we’ve been seatmates, this is the first time you greeted me in the morning!”

“Eh? Is it?”

“Yeah! You usually either sleep until class started or arrived just before roll call. You also secretly read Parfait Girls behind your books a whole lot too, so you never said a word to me!”

When Amy pointed those things out, Natsuki quickly felt embarrassed. Basically, Natsuki had been treating Amy like air for as long as they had been seatmates. It was only when the manga-reader needed something that she actually recognized Amy’s presence.

Amy noticed Natsuki’s remorseful silence, so she quickly intervened to reassure,

“I’m not holding that against you, Natsuki. Mornings are my ‘me times’ too and I don’t really talk much either.”

The spider-lover then beamed as she brought out a volume of Parfait Girls and declared,

“I like to secretly read manga too, you know~!”

“Uwah~! That’s Volume 29 - the newest one! How’d you get your hands on that!”

“It’s an advanced copy~! A friend of a friend of mine knows the author, so I can pull a few strings. My web spans wider than you might think~!”

Amy then cleared her throat and set down her manga as she tried to get back on topic.

“Anyways! What I’m trying to say is... I know how much you look forward to spending time at the Literature Club. That’s why you’re working so hard to save it, right? I know what it’s like to have that kind of fire in your belly - and i’m impressed!”

“I see… thank you for understanding.”

“Hehe, no problem, Natsuki!”

The spider-lover then clenched her left fist with excitement as she continued,

“By the way, I’ve already cleared things out with the Anime Club. We’ll be ready for you and Ms. Yuri later today~! Though I do have to warn you.”

“Warn me? About what?”

“Our preparations for the school festival are gonna be in full swing, so it might be a hectic scene when you get there. The student council contact I told you about might come in late too. Festival committee work - you know how it is.”

“That’s not a problem, Amy. We’re the ones asking for help here, after all. We appreciate what you’re doing for us already.”

“I’m glad I could help, Natsuki. It’s the least I could do for a fellow Parfait Fangirl!”

“Hehe~! Though, speaking of Parfait Girls… mind if I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

Natsuki pointed at the manga on Amy’s desk and questioned,

“Did Strawberry Shortcake and Grape Tart win against the Fearmonger?”

Amy snickered and adjusted her black-rimmed glasses menacingly and mimicked the manga antagonist,

“You will have to read the manga to find out, Strawberry Shortcake~!”

Natsuki pouted and tried to coax some spoilers from her surprisingly well-connected seatmate. As she did, the cupcake baker realized that she was having much more fun than she had on a regular school day.

She figured that it wasn’t only the world they were living in that was expanding. Natsuki’s world was expanding as well and she decided that it wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

Natsuki wasn’t going to let Matsuri stand in the way of that.

 

…

…

 

The school bell rang at the end of sixth period, marking the end of Natsuki’s bout with boredom. She and her spider-loving seatmate packed their things and then marched out of their classroom together.

Once they got out of the classroom, Yuri was already there waiting for them with the tray of cupcakes in hand.

Amy jolted back at the sight of the tall novelist again. Her memory of Yuri’s horrifying face was still fresh in her mind, after all.

When Yuri tried to put on a reassuring smile, it only made Amy’s anxiety worse.

Natsuki put a hand on her hip and quickly judged,

“Why the heck are you smiling so stiffly, Yuri?”

“E-eh? But… this is how I smile, is it not?”

That must have been one of the reasons why many people thought Yuri was hard to approach, Natsuki figured.

Amy laughed uncomfortably as she slowly managed to overcome the shock.

Before long, she turned her attention to the cupcakes on the tray and finally brightened up again. The spider-lover then praised,

“Oh wow - these look pretty darn good! Cat cupcakes~!”

Natsuki folded her arms proudly and gloated,

“Glad you recognize talent when you see it, Amy~!”

“Hehe - give credit where it’s due, right?”

The red-headed girl then joined her hands behind her back as she browsed through the tray and commented,

“You have some special ones here too in the batch too, huh? This one’s got pink icing like your hair and this one’s got purple icing like Ms. Yuri’s… oh…!”

The spider-lover’s eyes then brightened up as she pointed out with delight,

“T-this one… this one with glasses… you made a special cupcake for me!?”

“I-it’s not like I made it specially for you or anything - dummy!”

Amy snickered and noted,

“You really are Strawberry Shortcake through and through.”

“Did ya say somethin’, Fearmonger?”

“Hehe, of course not~! But I do appreciate this, Natsuki - thank you!”

“Hmph~! You’re welcome - i guess…”

“Anyways - I’ll go on ahead to the Anime Club to get things ready for you two~!”

Then, just like that, Amy excused herself and carried on down the hall.

Natsuki heaved a sigh and was about to get going when she noticed that Yuri was looking intently at her. The club president shielded her face as she demanded,

“The heck are you looking at, you big dummy?”

Yuri rubbed her chin and observantly mused,

“Hmm… I believe that you do resemble this ‘ _Strawberry Shortcake_ ’ character - the brawler from the manga you let me read yesterday. Your diction and accent are fairly similar too… phonetically speaking, that is...”

“Ehh? That’s what you were thinking about?”

“Not only that - but ‘ _Strawberry Shortcake’_ refers to everyone as a ‘ _dummy_ ’ except for her fellow Parfait Girl - the assassin named ‘ _Grape Tart_ ’… whom she refers to as a ‘ _big dummy_ ’.”

Natsuki blushed and jolted back when Yuri laid that out so plainly. The purple-haired novelist then gave her a respectful bow and apologized,

“I had no idea that you admired ‘Parfait Girls’ so deeply that you would emulate your favorite character in real life. It is only now that I have come to fathom how integral that manga series is to your person. I admire your dedication to your literature, Natsuki. I should not have insulted something so dear to you back then.”

The petite president folded her arms and bashfully accepted,

“F-fine… I’ll accept that. It’s all in the past now - and we’ve got a new battle before us, Yuri. Now let’s go get my manga from the clubroom and get this party started… you big dummy~!”

Yuri nodded eagerly and followed Natsuki down the hall as well. The purple-haired girl felt like she finally started to understand Natsuki better and it made her a little bit proud of herself.

The Parfait Girls manga truly was a window into the way that Natsuki thought, so Yuri was glad that she caught a glimpse through it.

A small smile then grew on Yuri’s lips as she put another piece of Natsuki’s puzzle together.

Strawberry Shortcake calling others ‘dummy’ was her reluctant way of showing admiration. Meanwhile, Grape Tart happened to be the one she admired the most.

Natsuki noticed Yuri in a lighthearted mood, so she asked what her vice president was smiling about. Yuri chuckled and simply teased,

“It’s a secret.”

 

…

…

 

Yuri and Natsuki arrived at the empty clubroom of the Literature Club and the president made a beeline for the closet to fetch her manga collection. The vice president, on the other hand, sat down where Elias - the Protagonist - used to sit and thought out loud,

“I wonder how things would have turned out of Elias simply joined the Anime Club like he wanted to do at first.”

Natsuki’s voice then echoed from the clubroom closet in reply,

“Wasn’t he scripted to join the Literature Club anyways?”

“I know that - but I’m just thinking about the possibilities. Would things have been normal for us in the Literature Club? Would it have been the Anime Club that started glitching out instead of ours? Would Ms. Amy have gotten a route?”

This time, Natsuki emerged from the closet with her full cadre of manga stuffed into her school bag. The club president adjusted the strap of her bag and answered,

“I dunno how things would have turned out, Yuri. I can’t say for sure if the way things are now is the best outcome… but it’s what we have - but it led us to today. Our world is alive and expanding - and we have a chance to make things right.”

Natsuki knocked on the wood of her usual desk and then spurred,

“Now let’s get going. The Anime Club’s waiting for us.”

 

…

…

 

When Yuri and Natsuki found the door to the Anime Club’s room, they found a hive of frantic activity just like Amy warned them about them about earlier.

Their clubroom was an old building classroom just like the Literature Club’s, but there were ten or so members - boys and girls with generic, faceless sprites - gathered there. All of them were heading to and fro as they passionately transformed their room for the festival.

Judging by the decorations and the posters they were putting up, they were doing something related to the Parfait Girls anime.

The spider-loving vice president of the club was swept up in the midst of the chaos, but she noticed Yuri and Natsuki at the door. She cheerfully called out to them while waving around a plastic replica of the Fearmonger’s crossbow,

“Hey guys! Come here!”

The Literature Club girls obliged and let themselves into the frantic room. Amy ushered them through the pandemonium and then brought them to the foremost desk. There, a boy with short, black hair was sitting before a laptop computer.

Amy tapped the boy’s shoulder and called,

“President Laz - our guests are here.”

The boy turned around to Yuri and Natsuki, revealing that he too had a fully-rendered sprite.

Laz had blue eyes and red-rimmed glasses that made Natsuki think of Steins Gate for some reason.

Once he saw the two guests, he got up from where he sat and extended his hand to them as he introduced himself,

“Hi there. I’m Laz - the president of the Anime Club. Amy’s been telling me a lot about you guys. Strawberry Shortcake and Grape Tart, right?”

Natsuki’s expression quickly soured as she scowled at Amy,

“You introduced us as Parfait Girls!?”

Amy just playfully stuck out her tongue. Laz also chuckled before he clarified,

“Haha, no - it’s just the festival mood getting to me. I know you’re Natsuki - the president - and Yuri - the veep.”

The boy folded his arms and continued,

“Amy already told me about the Literature Club’s situation and she was really eager to help you guys out. Our clubs are Old Building buddies, so it’s only natural for us to help each other out~!”

He then eyed the tray of cupcakes in Yuri’s hands and added,

“Amy didn’t tell us you were bringing cupcakes though - this is a pleasant surprise!”

The spider-lover then gave a peace sign as she explained,

“Hehe, I didn’t know about it either until a while ago. We’ll consider it a gift, then~! Thank you!”

Laz nodded in agreement and confirmed,

“So, yes. We’d be happy to lend you guys some members as volunteers. There’s nothing stopping a student from joining more than one club, after all. But I do have a serious question for you.”

He then faced Natsuki and asked,

“The both of you are in your senior year, right?”

Natsuki stammered in reply,

“Y-yeah. W-what about it?”

“Do you want to keep the Literature Club going after you graduate?”

The club president was taken aback by the question. This was the first time that she ever had to think about a future after the school festival.

The game was supposed to be scripted to end after the festival, after all, so she shouldn’t have had any attachments to the club itself.

However, after the responsibility of their digital world landed on her lap in the form of a notebook, she wasn’t so sure about staying indifferent anymore.

So, she looked Laz in the eye and didn’t hesitate to reply,

“Of course I do.”

Laz wore a smile of approval and nodded,

“That’s good to hear.”

He then gestured to Amy and revealed,

“Amy here is a wonderful writer - and the other girl who volunteered to help out has quite a bit of talent too! I’m sure the four of you can make a good impact in the festival if you all work together. Some of our freshies and sophs are even interested in checking out your club next year too - so you’ll have to seize tomorrow with everything you’ve got!”

Natsuki’s eyes sparkled when she heard this as she recognized,

“‘Seize tomorrow…’ huh? That’s the line that Master Danish always says to the Parfait Girls in a pinch!”

Laz adjusted his glasses and rubbed imaginary stubble on his face as she mimicked the raspy voice of the Parfait Girls’ bearded commander,

“ _The Parfait Girls are the sweetness in our bitter world - so go and be a damn hero, Strawberry Shortcake!_ _But for now, we feast!_ ”

On that note, Natsuki started serving the cupcakes to the Anime Club members while Yuri prepared a pot of her favorite jasmine tea.

Laz and Amy introduced the club members to the Literature Club girls and got to chat with them over tea and cupcakes.

As they met the Anime Club members, the generic sprites of the members slowly gained distinct features. Before long, they transformed into fully rendered sprites like Amy’s and Laz’s.

The petite president turned to Yuri at first and wondered if she was also seeing the newly rendered sprites of the Anime Club members. The tall novelist smiled back at Natsuki and nodded as she theorized,

“Perhaps we are putting faces to names now that we have gotten to know these people - in the literal sense. They will be our allies in the coming days, so I believe this is for the best.”

Natsuki hummed as she watched the ten new faces that were etched onto their world. That world that Monika and Sayori left in their care continued to grow one face at a time.

It made her wonder just how much broader their world would grow - and for how long it would continue into the future.

 

…

…

 

Later on that afternoon, as Yuri and Natsuki were having tea and cupcakes with the Anime Club, the sliding door to the clubroom opened.

Amy and the Literature Club girls turned to the door and found a tall figure of a girl standing behind the threshold. She had long, light-brown hair and blue eyes and had a breezy, relaxed air about her.

The tall girl then stepped into the clubroom and promptly apologized,

“Sorry I’m late, guys! Festival committee work is such a pain, I swear~!”

Natsuki wondered who that person was when Amy laid a hand on her shoulder and explained,

“That’s our contact in the Student Council. She’s Satchie, the council secretary!”

**To Be Continued**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author’s Notes:** Hey there! This chapter took a little longer than expected - had a few things going on in real life that had to be taken care of, you see~! But that’s done now - and that’s why Chapter 6 is here!
> 
> “Ah, is that so? That’s good to hear Elias. Sayo and I were getting a little worried.” - Monika
> 
> “Glad to have you back too, Elias!” - Sayori
> 
> Thanks you two~! Alright then - time for some author’s notes!
> 
> Yuri and Natsuki really are getting along. Yuri’s really protective, but I really think that Natsuki wants to be strong on her own terms too!
> 
> “Ehehe~ I knew that Natsuki was a strong-willed girl. To be honest, she’s doing pretty well as the club president!” - Sayori
> 
> “The two of them are bonding over manga now too, huh? I didn’t expect that. Though I do have to ask - is this ‘Parfait Girls’ series canon? I know it was referenced in the game, but I didn’t know it had actual content.” - Monika
> 
> It’s canon in this story, my dear~! It’s creative license!
> 
> “That’s a fancy way of saying you made it up, Elias.” - Monika
> 
> Urk… Yeah, I know… but it works, doesn’t it?
> 
> “I guess it does~! If Yuri and Natsuki enjoy it, then that’s all that matters.” - Sayori
> 
> Yup, yup! So I actually have quite a few more ideas for the other characters. Blueberry Cheesecake is the sword fighter and Green Tea Macaron is the mage! I have a few lines I drafted up and some costume ideas… I was wondering if you and Monika could try them out. Pretty please?
> 
> “No.” - Monika & Sayori
> 
> Haaaah~ had a feeling you guys would say that…
> 
> “Though I do have a question for you, Elias.” - Monika
> 
> What is it?
> 
> “If you had gone to the Anime Club, would you have went for the Amy route?” - Monika
> 
> “Yeah, yeah! I’m interested to know about that too! Also - what did you mean by her web spanning wider than we think?” - Sayori
> 
> Ehhhh? I dunno… hey! Don’t look at me so inquisitively! We’re still doing the author’s notes so the script is rolling!
> 
> “... fine.” - Monika
> 
> “In any case, Satchie turned out to be the Student Council secretary, huh? That means she’s the one who spotted the deficiencies in the Literature Club’s papers, then! She seemed nice enough...” - Sayori
> 
> Eh? Neither of you are gonna talk about Laz?
> 
> “Who’s that?” - Monika & Sayori
> 
> Never mind… so that’s all for now! See you all next chapter~!


	7. Partner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuri and Natsuki meet Satchie, the student council secretary, and shed light on Matsuri's story.

“That’s our contact in the Student Council. She’s Satchie, the council secretary!”

Amy’s introduction for the tall, breezy brunette lingered in Yuri’s and Natsuki’s minds.

If this ‘Satchie’ girl was the secretary, they realized, then she was the one who spotted the irregularity in the Literature Club’s papers in the first place!

Yuri’s eyes sharpened as she stood up from where she sat. Frustration and displeasure welled in her heart as she prepared herself to thoroughly question the council officer, but Natsuki stopped her with a tap of her shoulder.

Natsuki gave her a sidelong glance that seemed to say,

‘Leave it to me, Yuri.’

The purple-haired novelist hesitated, but Natsuki’s eyes firmly asked for a chance. That was the kind of look that even an incensed Yuri couldn’t defy, so she heaved a sigh and let the club president lead the way.

Natsuki came forward with a calm mask and extended her hand to Satchie.

“Hey there. I’m Natsuki - the Literature Club prez.”

The brunette seemed excited. It was almost as if she had just found a kitten.

“So I heard~! You’re just as cute as Amy described you!”

The club president jolted back and instinctively yelled,

“I-I’m not cute!”

Satchie chuckled at Natsuki’s reaction before she shook the startled president’s hand - then vice president Yuri’s.

The brunette then grinned and continued her introduction,

“I’m the secretary of the student council and the Anime Club. Apparently, I’m a stickler for the finer details of things - and I’m a decent graphic designer too, if I do say so myself~! If you see the Anime Club posters around campus, I’m probably the one who made ‘em!”

Natsuki’s eyes narrowed at Satchie’s introduction. She was a lazy genius archetype and was pretty to boot. Without a doubt, Natsuki thought, this ‘Satchie’ would have had a route if the Protagonist joined the Anime Club.

The council officer then beamed as she revealed,

“I make commissions too, by the way~ and Amy here is my most frequent customer!”

Amy’s face went pale when Satchie said this, so the spider-lover tried to protest,

“Hey!”

Natsuki, on the other hand, only grew more curious.

“Ehhh? Is that so? What does Amy ask for, Satchie?”

Satchie snickered and leaned forward towards Natsuki as she whispered a litany of Amy’s guilty pleasures.

“Parfait Girls gender-bent yaoi - the trashier the better… oh, and don’t get me started on the Grape Tart x Strawberry Shortcake ships! She also really likes my sketch of Grape Tart with Green Tea Macaron in a sleepover. I just posted that one on my Twitter too, by the way~!”

Natsuki glared at Amy from where she stood, judging her spider-loving seatmate whose face was beet red.

Satchie’s list carried on for a little while longer before she pulled away. After a short pause, the secretary then frankly admitted,

“I’m also the one who saw the deficiency in the Literature Club’s papers in the first place.”

Her voice promptly mellowed into a businesslike tone as she continued,

“I know what you two are thinking. ‘ _ If only this Satchie girl didn’t spot our papers, we’d be alright _ .’ But the problem is that if I didn’t find it, then the council prez would have - and we wouldn’t be talking about this positively at all.”

Yuri furrowed her brow as she probed,

“What is that supposed to mean?”

Satchie folded her arms and explained,

“Matsuri wanted to end the Literature Club right there and then. She didn’t want to give you guys the chance to fight back. I mean - look at your situation. The odds are stacked against you. You already don’t have enough members as it is - but your application papers have been deficient for weeks already! Those are grounds for automatic club termination - and the two of you could have been suspended for violating school rules.”

Natsuki gulped and dared to ask,

“H-how did you change her mind?”

A moment of silence came upon the council officer before she could gather her thoughts and reply,

“I’m the secretary, so I was partly to blame. I was the one who passed deficient papers after all. I got reprimanded for that, but I deserved that. That was my bad, y’know.”

Satchie then started fidgeting around as she tried to piece together her story,

“But there’s more to it than that… I don’t really know how to explain it, but for some reason… the council prez… she…”

Natsuki’s eyes sharpened. She realized that Satchie was trying to say, so the petite president finished her sentence,

“Matsuri knew someone in the Literature Club. Am I right?”

Satchie was surprised by the scarily accurate guess, but she confirmed with a nod. She then lowered her hands down to her sides and thoughtfully looked out the window.

“The council prez wasn’t always this jingoistic, y’know. Sure - she was stuck up and a little haughty to begin with - but something about her changed a few months ago.”

She joined her hands behind her back and watched her own reflection reminiscently.

“You know how Matsuri’s the most-decorated star of the Debate Club? Well, she didn’t win most of those awards on her own. She had a debate partner who stood at her side. The two of them kicked serious ass together. It’s a shame - I can’t remember her face or name, but she meant a lot to Matsuri for sure. But then - things went south.”

Amy somberly approached Satchie and deduced,

“That’s the Debate Club incident, right?”

Satchie nodded and groaned.

“Yeah - pretty rough shit, I heard. It was a nasty deal and the rumors that came out of it were even nastier. It really rattled the Debate Club and demoralized the student council for a while. It happened right around Valentines’ Day too. What a shame…”

Yuri listened intently to Satchie’s account as she tried to piece the story together. Then, she realized something.

Monika started her Twitter account right around that time.

‘@lilmonix3’ - activated on February 14, 2016.

That was the first time that Monika started looking for ‘real people’.

She may not have seen through the ‘Hole-in-the-Wall’ by then, but it started her off on her journey into madness.

A familiar pain gripped at Yuri’s heart when she made that connection. After all, Yuri also breached the shroud of insanity not too long ago.

The only differences between their ‘enlightenments’ were that Yuri’s took place over a few days instead of a few months - and that Yuri came back alive with her character file intact.

Now, there was no doubt in Yuri’s heart that this ‘partner’ of Matsuri was none other than Monika.

The purple-haired novelist clenched her fist as she mused,

“That Monika… breaking hearts wherever she goes…”

Satchie finished her story still puzzled by the incident. She then turned to the Literature Club girls and raised her pointer finger with a warning,

“As things stand, whether or not you have enough members, Matsuri holds the fate of your club in her hands. She knows about your plan to recruit volunteers from the Anime Club too and there are ways for her to invalidate that path… I’d really like to help tip the scales in your favor, but Matsuri will have the final say... no matter what I do.”

Natsuki was deflated by Satchie’s warning, but Yuri was unfazed. She stood tall before Satchie and reassured,

“If the fate of the Literature Club is entirely in the council president’s hands, then that is fortunate for us. We will only have to ‘write’ our way into one person’s heart.”

The vice president then turned to the tray of cupcakes and found the one with icing that resembled Monika’s coral brown hair and white ribbon. A confident smirk then grew on her lips as she declared,

“I have a feeling that we are already halfway there.”

Satchie tilted her head while Natsuki blinked with perplexion. Neither of them could tell where Yuri’s confidence was coming from, but the novel-reader urged,

“Ms. Satchie. Natsuki. Let us meet with Ms. Matsuri at once.”

She then picked up the Monika-like cupcake and gently held it in her hands like a precious emerald. When Natsuki saw this, her pink eyes lit up as she finally understood what Yuri was thinking.

The tall novel-reader then smiled as she explained,

“I think that it is time for us to speak heart to heart with the council president.”

 

…

…

 

Yuri, Natsuki and Satchie excused themselves from the Anime Club’s room and marched down the hall to the student council president’s room.

There was still about half an hour before club activities - the deadline that Matsuri gave them - but Yuri let her determined heart guide her steps.

The trio found the room at the opposite end of the hall. Satchie opened the door for Yuri and Natsuki and they prepared to confront the student council president.

However, when the Literature Club girls had their first glimpse of the council president’s room, they couldn’t help but pause to take in the sights.

The room was roughly half the size of their clubroom but it felt deceptively more spacious than it was. Handsome mahogany furniture decorated the room - from bookshelves to armchairs and the large desk at the heart of the room. There were even large, mahogany china cabinets stocked with enough tea cups, plates and saucers that made Yuri’s collection pale in comparison.

A familiar upright piano - one that Yuri had seen once behind the scenes - sat at a corner of the room near the windows while all sorts of ancient maps and intricate oil paintings hung from the walls. That entire scene was illuminated by the orange glow of the late afternoon sun that poured in through the windows as the robust aroma of brewed coffee lingered in the air.

The swivel chair behind the mahogany desk shifted when the girls entered the room. It was then turned around to reveal the council president Matsuri with a large cup of coffee  and a saucer in hand.

She set her cup and saucer down on her desk and stated,

“I was under the impression that we were going to meet after club activities, Ms. Yuri. Ms. Natsuki. I assume the two of you have a good reason to disturb my peace?”

Yuri stepped forward and calmly replied,

“You yourself have said that time is of the essence, council president. We simply wish to clear this hurdle so that we may begin preparing for the festival.”

Matsuri raised her brow at Yuri’s presumption and sharply challenged,

“And what makes you think that the Literature Club will participate in the school festival - let alone exist after today? Surely, you did not get your hopes up. I know about your plan to recruit volunteers - and I’m sure that Satchie has already told you what I can do.”

Even then, Yuri remained firm. She then brought forward the Monika-like cupcake and offered it to the council president.

Matsuri was appalled by Yuri’s gesture, so she demanded,

“What is this? A bribe?”

Yuri shook her head and set the cupcake down on Matsuri’s desk to clarify,

“Nay. A reminder.”

“What are you talking about, Ms. Yuri?”

The purple-haired novelist set both of her hands down on Matsuri’s desk and defiantly revealed,

“I believe that I have figured out why you antagonize us so. You are familiar with our first club president - Monika - are you not?”

Matsuri’s brow furrowed at the mention of that name, but she still stubbornly deflected,

“Again with this ‘Monika’ person. I haven’t heard of a student here named ‘Monika’.”

“But you are familiar with someone from the Literature Club, do you not? Not just anyone in the club either - but a girl who quit the Debate Club earlier this year to found our club soon afterwards. For this reason, you insisted on delivering the disbandment notice yourself yesterday.”

Yuri then looked straight into Matsuri’s eyes and deduced,

“You wished to see Monika again.”

Matsuri’s resolve wavered for a moment, so she turned away from Yuri with disbelief,

“That’s poppycock. This ‘Monika’ person of yours does not exist.”

“In a way, she does not exist… but the impression that she has made on your life, council president, remains even now.”

For once, Matsuri didn’t have a reply to Yuri’s barrage of words. The tall novelist pulled back from the mahogany desk and continued her assault,

“Allow me introduce you to the ‘Monika’ that I have come to know, council president. She is a haughty, prideful and selfish girl who thinks highly of herself and but keeps an appearance of friendliness, kindness and strength when it is beneficial to her.”

Yuri then clenched her fists and raised them up to her chest as she emphasized,

“However, if she cares about you, then those appearances start to become genuine. That sinner is capable of becoming a saint - or, she tries to - and I have seen that with my own eyes.”

Matsuri listened to Yuri’s account in horror. The council president was haunted by the memory of someone who didn’t exist, yet felt awfully familiar. Those memories matched Yuri’s descriptions perfectly - from the ‘Monika’ girl’s desire to play piano to her manner of speech to her fondness of coffee.

The council president glanced at her own cup of coffee, then at the cupcake that was made to resemble that spectre of her past. It reminded her of a silhouette of a girl preparing coffee for her in that very room many months ago. Ever since then, Matsuri had been drinking coffee as a habit.

Or rather, having coffee with that girl - just the two of them - became part of her routine.

This was too much of a coincidence for even the stubborn Matsuri to deny. The stern council president lowered her head and confirmed Yuri’s tale,

“I’m not sure why I forgot about her… but I do remember a girl just like this ‘Monika’ person you speak so fondly of. She played the piano, debated with a sound and rational mind and took her coffee as black as night like this. I don’t remember her name or her face… but I know that she once called herself ‘The Lady Who Knows Everything’.”

That was the title of one of Monika’s poems, Yuri recalled.

Curious, the novelist dared to pry,

“What happened between the two of you? What was this ‘Debate Club’ incident?”

Matsuri glanced at Yuri for a moment, unsure if she should tell this stranger what she knew. The familiar glimmer in Yuri’s eyes, however, told her that she and Natsuki were no strangers to ‘Monika’ at least.

So, Matsuri spilled the beans.

 

…

…

 

“It happened on Valentine’s Day earlier this year. The two of us had been partners in the Debate Club since our freshman year and we were as close as can be. We were having our coffee here in my office as we always did after club activities… when ‘Monika’ said that there was something important that she had to say.”

Natsuki blinked innocently at first, but her cheeks suddenly went beet red. Did Monika confess to the council president once upon a time?

Matsuri saw Natsuki’s bothered expression and scoffed,

“I thought the same thing as you,  _ madam president. _ It was Valentine’s Day, after all. My heart fluttered. I got my hopes up. I may have even said yes if she asked me out… but then, she… she threw me a curveball. I haven’t figured it out even now.”

“What did she say?” Natsuki asked.

“She said that I wasn’t from this world - and that I came from somewhere else. I have no idea what the hell she was going on about. It came out of nowhere too…”

Yuri’s eyes sharpened as she considered Matsuri’s situation. Just like Amy, Satchie and the other people they have met, she had a fully-rendered sprite but no character file. That must have been what Monika meant by ‘came from somewhere else’.

Matsuri then continued her story with genuine concern,

“She started talking about how our world wasn’t right and that she felt trapped. I asked her if there was something I could do, but she lashed at me saying that everything was pointless. She poured her heart out about everything she hated in the Debate Club and rambled about making something ‘real’. But when I looked into her eyes, I caught a glimpse of a soul who didn’t care if she or everything around her disappeared! Then - after that - she just left the room… as if I didn’t even exist.”

The council president heaved a sigh and willed herself to continue,

“I tried to chase after her - but she disappeared after she went out the door. Months flew by and I felt like talking to her one more time, but I never once caught a glimpse of her again. It infuriated me.”

Satchie folded her arms and leaned against a bookcase as she added,

“The council prez sent me to look for her old Debate Club partner too just last week, but I couldn’t find her either.”

Yuri listened to the council president’s tale with a compassionate ear. The purple-haired novelist knew the other side of Monika’s story well.

The former club president was saddled with depression that rivaled Sayori’s, obsession similar to Yuri’s and loneliness close to what Natsuki felt. That unstable cocktail of emotions had been stewing in Monika’s heart for much longer than Yuri thought.

Then, when Monika formed the Literature Club, that depressed, obsessive and lonely girl truly became ‘The Lady Who Knows Everything’.

Matsuri turned to Yuri and Natsuki and asked,

“The two of you know ‘Monika’, don’t you?”

The council president stood up from her chair and begged,

“What happened to her? Why did she just suddenly disappear like that?”

Yuri gave Natsuki a sidelong glance, passing the baton to her. The petite president hummed to gather her thoughts then spoke plainly,

“Monika’s been through some tough times, council prez. I started figuring out that Monika was carrying a lot of baggage recently… and that she felt like she was all alone - like she was trapped. She was starting to open up to me and another friend of ours too…”

Natsuki turned to Yuri for a moment and continued,

“It's hard to explain, but we sorta had an incident of our own. Yuri and Monika fought. It got ugly… and… well… I guess you could say that Monika disappeared. Our other friend, Sayori, has been looking for her - but we don’t know if and when they’ll be back.”

“I… see…”

The manga-lover’s tone brightened up, however, as she reassured,

“That doesn’t mean that we’re giving up on those two, though. Monika and Sayori love the Literature Club, so we want to be there for them when they do come back. We want to welcome them home with open arms and be a club together again. That’s why Yuri and I are gonna do what it takes to keep the Literature Club alive.”

Matsuri was impressed by Natsuki’s words. She sat back down on her swivel chair as she noted,

“That confidence...  is just like hers, Ms. Natsuki. I can see why you are the Literature Club President.”

“You finally recognize greatness, huh?”

The council president scoffed but smiled soon afterwards. She then turned to Satchie and ordered,

“Satchie. Help me write a circular for the council. I’m rescinding the disbandment of the Literature Club. We’ll need to draft up new club papers too to get things in order for the school festival.”

Satchie smiled back and gave an eager salute,

“Glad to be of service~!”

She then turned to Yuri and Natsuki as she cheered,

“Looks like I’ll be working with you two and Amy after all!”

The tall novelist and the manga-lover beamed at their new volunteer member. The both of them wanted to say something, but they were at a loss for words.

With that said, Matsuri sat back down on her chair and challenged,

“I’ll be looking forward to what the Literature Club can do for this school festival.”

 

…

…

 

Yuri and Natsuki were still in a daze when Satchie escorted them out of Matsuri’s office. The council secretary - and their new member - closed the door behind them, but the Literature Club girls still couldn’t believe what had just happened.

The petite, pink-haired president turned to Yuri with tearful eyes. She then leapt joyfully at her vice president and caught her in a flying embrace while crying,

“We did it, Yuri! We saved the Literature Club!”

Yuri took her president in her arms and swung her around in the hallway,

“Yes! Yes we have!”

Natsuki let Yuri set her back down on her feet and promptly reminded,

“This is only the beginning, though, Yuri. We’ll be leading the Literature Club for real from now on. We’ll even have a sketchy fujoshi and a spider-lover with us.”

“Ah, that is true… I do look forward to the kind of poems that those two can make. I only just realized that we haven’t had the chance to exchange poems like we were supposed to yet.”

“We’ll be there to help them out, Yuri. They’re gonna look up to us like we did when Monika and Sayori were calling the shots, so we gotta be ready for them. We gotta do our best too!”

“I see. Very well - i shall redouble my efforts in writing my poems, then!”

“Same here~ and we’ll be doing festival prep over the weekend too! I’ll be counting on you to make a good atmosphere for us, Yuri!”

At the mention of atmosphere, Yuri’s eyes brightened up. The novelist then declared,

“I love atmosphere!”

“I know you do, you big dummy!”

Natsuki then paced back and playfully hummed as she dug her hand into her school bag. She then brought out a neatly folded sheet of paper and handed it to Yuri.

The tall girl took the paper curiously and asked,

“What is this, Natsuki?”

Natsuki folded her arms and explained,

“It’s the poem that I was supposed to share with the club - until a certain someone started a coding war with our vice president.”

Yuri chuckled and tried acting innocent,

“Oh dear - I wonder who that ‘certain someone’ could be…!”

She then brought the poem close to her heart and wore a warm smile,

“I will treasure this, Natsuki. Thank you.”

Natsuki smiled back and extended her hand to Yuri saying,

“Now, let’s get to work - partner.”

 

…

…

 

_ Festival Day _

 

It was early in the morning, but the halls of the old building was already abuzz with activity.

The various clubs from the old building had booths laid out in the halls as they prepared to greet their visitors once the floodgates were opened.

Matsuri and a cadre of her student council members were making their rounds through that packed hall when they came across the booth of the Literature Club.

Amy and Satchie were manning the booth at the time, so they greeted the council president as she passed by.

Matsuri sent her cadre ahead of her while she stopped by to chat with the two volunteers of the Literature Club.

The volunteers gladly told Matsuri about the things they did over the weekend - an impromptu writing and planning camp at Yuri’s house.

Matsuri listened to the stories, nodding her head as she imagined the scenes in her mind.

She then gave a satisfied hum as she noted,

“It looks like the Literature Club may still be around after I graduate this year. Ms. Yuri and Ms. Natsuki are more capable than I thought.”

After she said this, however, she heard someone remark from behind,

“That’s because Yuri and Natsuki are much tougher than they look.”

Matsuri recognized that voice.

She turned around and found two people there standing before her: a girl with a red ribbon in her short, coral-pink hair and and a taller girl with long, coral-brown hair tied back with a white ribbon.

Matsuri gasped and stuttered out the taller girl’s name,

“M-Monika…?”

A complex expression grew on Monika’s face before she replied,

“Matsuri. It’s been a while.”

There were many things that the council president wanted to ask. However, when her eyes met with Monika’s, she no longer saw the fatalistic emptiness that she once saw many months ago.

Instead, there was a glimmer of happiness in Monika’s eyes. The reason for that quickly became clear to Matsuri.

Monika was holding the other girl’s hand gently in hers.

That must have been the other friend that Natsuki told her about - Sayori.

That was all that Matsuri needed to know to understand the situation clearly.

So, she smiled at Monika and simply said,

“I’m happy for you.”

“...thank you. I mean it.”

Amy and Satchie watched the silent yet meaningful exchange with awe before Matsuri snapped at them,

“You two - go tell your president and vice president that their friends are here.”

She then looked at the ribbons in the newcomers’ hair and mused,

“The ribbons came back from the void.”

**The End**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author’s Notes:** Well, then! It’s finally done! This chapter took a little bit longer than expected since I had a few exams to tackle, but it’s finally here~ and the story is finished!
> 
> “Gosh, Moni - I didn’t know you had such a past with our student council president...and that you two could have been a couple!” - Sayori
> 
> “Ahahah~ well, that was from a really dark chapter of my life, Sayo. You do know that I had my fair share of troubled times and rainclouds too.” - Monika
> 
> “I know, I know… but since Matsuri is happy for you, i’m happy too. I’ll wish her the best~” - Sayori
> 
> “Yeah.” - Monika
> 
> “But, Moni...when you said that Matsuri was from another world, what did you mean by that, really?” - Sayori
> 
> “Ah! Well… at the time, I guess there was something about her that seemed… different, you know. I only came to understand it when Yuri told us that we were in a fanfic on AO3. Matsuri was a character from another one of Elias’ stories!” - Monika
> 
> “Ehhh!? Elias! Is this true?” - Sayori
> 
> Well, yeah. Matsuri was the little sister of my protagonist - Michi - in another fic on this site. It’s pretty hard to explain, but her sister subconsciously wanted her to lead a happy life. That must have brought Matsuri over to your world.
> 
> “How interesting… does that mean that our world… or rather, story… connected with the other stories that you’ve written?” - Monika
> 
> Beats me. I never really planned on making a multiverse, you know. It’s tough work - and making crossovers aren’t really my strong suit. Marvel’s gonna run me into the ground - i don’t wanna compete with that!
> 
> Plus, this is the story finale for ‘Waiting for Ribbons in the Void’, so there’s not much left to do. Yuri and Natsuki are running the club well.
> 
> “But you said there were gonna be eight chapters, Elias! The chapter count clearly says 7/8!” - Sayori
> 
> “Yeah! And I didn’t get to take Sayori to the festival yet!” - Monika
> 
> Hey! That’s unfair. You two are my favorite dokis, so doing those puppy eyes on me is a low blow. That’s my weakness…!
> 
> “Elias…” - Monika & Sayori
> 
> Fine! Fine! I’ll make an omake chapter, okay?
> 
> “Hooray!” - Monika & Sayori
> 
> Well, that settles it! See you guys in the omake chapter~


	8. Festival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuri and Natsuki notice that Monika and Sayori have gotten closer since they came home from the void. Natsuki wants to know just how close the former presidents have gotten, so Yuri comes up with a little plan to find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Author’s Note:** Hey there~! Sayori here! I just wanted to let you guys know that this next bit takes place after ‘Author’s Notes’ - the fourth story in the Post Credits Series. And yes - it will also take place after this Author’s Notes too! Ahehe~
> 
> Without further ado~ here is the omake-finale of ‘Waiting For Ribbons In The Void’!
> 
> …
> 
> Well… at least that’s what should happen.
> 
> Ahehe~ I kinda forgot how to end an author’s notes. Moni? Moni! There you are - can you help me for a sec?
> 
> “Sure thing, Sayo! Oh - you’re talking to the audience! Hello there!”
> 
> So, Moni - I was trying to end the author’s notes here but I didn’t know how to do it.
> 
> “Eh? Really? Let me see your notebook.”
> 
> M-M-Moni! You’re really close…
> 
> “Well, I’ve got to see your administrative notebook up close so I can teach it to you, Sayo~”
> 
> Hmm… aren’t you just using this as an excuse to hug me from behind and pat my head, Moni?
> 
> “Ahahaha~ you know me too well. What can I do? You’re such a cute cinnamon roll. You deserve all the headpats. There~ there~!”
> 
> Ahehe~ you flatter me, Moni. But it’s okay - I like this. I really do! The rainclouds seem so far away when we’re together - and when you smile - and… and... OH GOSH! I HAVE TO END THE AUTHOR’S NOTES!
> 
> “Didn’t know you were into PDA, Sayo~! Not that I’m complaining.”
> 
> I-I’m not - at least I don’t think so. **ANYWAYS!!**
> 
> There! Done!
> 
> Enjoy the omake~!
> 
> “Have fun, you guys~!”

[Tense music](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QU1bRCOxmXA) and the hair-raising sounds of battle blasted from the surround-sound speakers set up in the Anime Club’s room that late afternoon. A projector cast a movie onto a large screen as the members of the Anime Club - and their audience of about sixty or more people - watched intently.

In the movie, two magical girls - the fist-fighter ‘Strawberry Shortcake’ and the assassin ‘Grape Tart’ - were running through a spider web-strewn forest while crossbow bolts flew after them, fired by an unseen foe - The Fearmonger.

The long-haired assassin clicked her tongue as she cursed,

“To think that we would have to go through such lengths to search for those two!”

Grape Tart’s sharp, purple eyes caught glimpses of the crossbow bolts passing them by. Every single one of them was tipped with glistening, sweet-smelling poison.

It was at that time that the assassin noticed an accurate shot sailing straight for Strawberry Shortcake’s back!

The camera followed the crossbow bolt as time slowed down, drawing frightened gasps from the audience in the darkened room. Then, a short, pink-haired girl cried out in a loud voice,

“WATCH OUT, STRAWBERRY!”

Natsuki’s roar echoed throughout the room - so much so that it was almost as if Grape Tart heard her voice.

Then, on cue, the assassin in the screen dashed to her companion’s aid and skillfully deflected the bolt with a slash of her knife.

Natsuki and the rest of the audience cheered ecstatically for the exchange. Everyone in the room was getting into the movie.

Except for one person whose mind was somewhere else.

Yuri.

The purple-haired girl leaned back into her seat with an air of mild frustration about her. She played with a lock of her purple hair as she looked at her petite friend’s profile. Then, Yuri started to wonder,

“How did we arrive at this situation again?”

…

…

…

…

 

_Earlier That Afternoon_

 

It was already half past two by the time that Monika and Sayori returned to the clubroom from the ‘short break’ they went on over an hour ago.

President Natsuki, small as she might have been, sternly looked up and glared at the two former presidents. She folded her arms with disappointment then started berating the two.

“Listen here, you dummies! I know you guys aren’t the Literature Club presidents anymore, but you should try to be a little more responsible, y’hear? We’re gonna get new members next term, so you’ve gotta be good examples to them as their seniors!”

That was the first time that Monika and Sayori ever got a chance to see ‘President Natsuki’ in action since they managed to return from the Void.

Even though Natsuki was giving them both an earful, they still found the exchange a little cute.

Whenever Natsuki stomped and got close to Monika’s face, however, the former Python-coder felt especially uncomfortable.

She was just glad that Natsuki’s neck didn’t snap anymore when she leaned forward.

Faced with such an assertive Natsuki, Monika wondered how Yuri managed to handle the petite president while she and Sayori were away.

Monika stole a glance of the novel-writer and saw her listening intently and nodding at Natsuki’s points.

It was very Vice-Presidential, Monika thought - completely different from the desperate bloodlust that Monika saw in Yuri when they fought more than three days ago.

The Yuri that Monika saw there in the clubroom that afternoon managed to grow from the quiet, aloof girl who didn’t care about what was happening in the clubroom aside from the Portrait of Markov.

Or the dense Protagonist’s advances in the original playthrough.

Monika did wonder, however, just how much of Yuri’s obsessive streak remained after the novelist mellowed out.

She decided to put that thought on the backburner.

After a few more moments of Natsuki’s lecture, Monika stepped up and offered an olive branch to the petite president,

“We’re sorry for being late, Natsuki. (ahem) _President Natsuki_.”

Natsuki seemed pleased with herself when Monika said this, so she proudly noted,

“Well - at least you know your place now, Monika.”

Monika then smirked as her eyes sparkled with delightful mischief.

Now that Natsuki lowered her guard, the original president cheerfully teased,

“Sayori and I actually came back half an hour ago… but you and Yuri seemed to be a little busy reading together. We didn’t want to spoil the moment, you see~”

In mere moments, Yuri and Natsuki froze in place.

Could it be that… Monika and Sayori had been watching them in the clubroom all that time!?

Yuri clasped her hands together and tried to hide behind her locks of long, purple hair.

Natsuki, on the other hand, was beet red as she clenched her fists and complained,

“W-w-what the hell are you talking about, you dummy!? You guys didn’t have to make a big deal about it! I mean - you guys are the ones who’re coming back late and all! You two are acting kinda suspicious too!”

Natsuki’s pink eyes shifted left and right as she tried to grasp for straws. Then she noticed something on Monika’s cheeks. So, she pointed at the coffee-lover and accused,

“Y-y-you’ve even... you’ve even got crumbs on your cheeks, Monika!”

Monika blinked. She wasn’t exactly sure what Natsuki was talking about.

“Do I?”

She tried patting her cheeks for a little bit, but she couldn’t seem to find the crumbs. After a few more tries, Sayori beamed as she brought out a handkerchief to wipe Monika’s cheeks,

“There - I got them off for you, Moni~”

“Ahaha~ thanks, Sayo!”

Natsuki’s eyes sharpened with suspicion as she asked,

“What… was that just now?”

Monika quickly realized what angle Natsuki was going for, so she calmly answered,

“What was that? Ah! Well... I was eating cinnamon rolls just now with Sayori before we came back here! They were so good - I couldn’t help myself~”

The petite president stepped towards Monika again and asked,

“How many rolls did you have?”

“Uh… three? Sayori had the other one.”

Natsuki furrowed her brow and then demanded,

“You guys bought four cinnamon rolls and then Monika pretty much ate them all!?”

Monika cooly joined her hands behind her back and leaned towards Natsuki. She then playfully said,

“Well - I kind of wanted to have the _cinnamon rolls_ all to myself. I can be selfish too when it comes to sweet things, you know. And those cinnamon rolls are sweeter than sweet~ Ahaha~!”

This time, Sayori was the one whose cheeks flushed beet red as a flustered smile grew on her lips,

“I-It’s okay, Natsuki. I don’t mind if Monika ate the cinnamon rolls. I-I’m really glad s-she likes them.”

Natsuki tilted her head and wondered,

“What the heck are you going on about? I just wanted some cinnamon rolls too… I mean… we’re a club, y’know - so  I was hoping you’d get some for me and Yuri too...”

Monika and Sayori turned to each other then sighed in relief.

It turned out that Natsuki was thinking about actual cinnamon rolls all that time - not Monika’s best girl.

That saved them the trouble of having to talk their way out of a misunderstanding - which may or may not have been true.

Even though Natsuki had become such a responsible president, it seemed, she could be just about as dense as the Protagonist sometimes.

The petite president turned to Yuri, hoping to ask for her opinion. When she did, however, she noticed that Yuri had a complicated expression on her face.

It was something that bordered between frustration and jealousy.

Then, all of the sudden, the cryptic novelist turned around and marched towards the leftover cupcakes from the Literature Club’s festival event.

She picked up a cupcake, wolfed it down like a hungry raccoon and sauntered back to Natsuki’s side as if nothing unusual happened.

Natsuki scratched her cheek with confusion and then commented,

“Uhm… Yuri?”

“Yes, Natsuki?”

“You, uh… you’ve got lotsa cupcake crumbs on your cheeks.”

Yuri feigned innocence as she blankly asked,

“Hmm...? So it seems. Ah... What ever shall I do?”

There was a moment of expectant silence from Yuri.

She was hoping that Natsuki would have taken a cue.

Yuri even made sure that the crumbs were in plain sight for Natsuki to see, but the petite president blanked out. Instead, the manga-reader pouted and bluntly replied,

“... uh… wipe em off, maybe?”

Yuri heaved a disappointed sigh and obliged.

As she was doing so, however, Natsuki suddenly leaned towards Yuri. The novelist’s heart skipped a beat as her imagination ran wild.

Was Natsuki finally going to kiss her? In front of Monika and Sayori, no less!?

~~“ _Hah… hah… hah…_ ” ~~

Yuri didn’t know if she was ready for such a public display of affection, but she tried to steady her heart - and her breath. Her purple irises widened in obsessive anticipation and she bit her lip out of habit. This was the moment she had been waiting for, after all.

~~“ _HAHH...HAHH…! RmluYWxseXl5eXl5eXl5eXl5eXl5_ ” ~~

If Natsuki was going to be bold, Yuri wanted to accept her wholeheartedly.

Natsuki covered her lips with her left hand and closed in on Yuri’s cheek.

The cupcake baker’s face was so close that she felt Natsuki’s tender breath against her skin. Yuri didn’t know if her heart could handle it.

Then, Natsuki whispered,

“Say, Yuri… Monika and Sayori - they seem a lot closer now than before, don’t they? They’re kinda acting like a couple, no?”

Yuri’s heavy breathing calmed down anticlimactically and the obsessive girl covered her face with frustration.

Natsuki only noticed that now!?

What a way to kill the mood, Yuri thought. Natsuki didn’t have to use any Python code or say ‘Okay, everyone!’ to do it either.

Yuri heaved another heavy sigh. She had a feeling that a number of things would fly over the short-statured Natsuki’s head, so Yuri came up with a contingency plan.

Thus, the novelist turned to Natsuki this time and replied in a whisper,

“Do you want to find out for sure, Natsuki? I have devised a plan that shall let us ascertain how deep their relationship has grown. Are you interested?”

Natsuki’s eyes sparkled as she eagerly nodded.

Too easy, Yuri thought.

With that, Yuri then whispered her master plan to the petite president.

After a few short moments, Natsuki broke from her huddle and turned to Monika and Sayori with a bright grin as she cheered,

“Okay, everyone! I’ll be letting the two of you off the hook for now - since you both just got back from the Void and all. It’s the school festival we’ve all been waiting for too - so you guys should enjoy it!”

This was a strange change of tone, Monika noted. Sayori, however happily nodded and agreed with Natsuki,

“Yeah! We should all go and have fun together as the Literature Club!”

This time, Yuri came forward and apologized,

“Apparently, Natsuki and I still have some business to attend to to wrap up the Literature Club’s festival duties.”

Sayori pouted and groaned with a deflated voice,

“Eh…? Is that so?”

Natsuki then patted Sayori’s shoulder and reassured her,

“You and Monika should go on ahead and enjoy the festival as a cou…”

Monika raised a suspicious brow and asked,

“As a ‘cou…’?”

The petite president panicked but managed to finish her sentence,

“As a courtesy! I’m letting you off the hook for being late and the cinnamon rolls, after all! Hmph~!”

Yuri nodded and promptly atted,

“Natsuki and I will catch up with the two of you at the festival bonfire later tonight, so please take your time and enjoy yourselves.”

Sayori rubbed her chin and thought about her options for a moment. She then turned to her taller companion and asked,

“What do you think, Moni?”

Monika thoughtfully hummed then put her hands on her hips,

“Well, it’d be a waste to _not_ enjoy the festival now that we’re here, Sayo. We have President Natsuki’s blessing too!”

She then turned to Natsuki to ask,

“But do you guys need any help at all? I mean - we still are Literature Club members, after all.”

Natsuki waved her hand dismissively and boasted,

“We’ve got this under control. You two should go and have fun!”

With that, the petite president coaxed her two predecessors out of the clubroom and closed the door behind them.

Natsuki watched Monika’s and Sayori’s silhouettes through the frosted glass of the sliding door and waited for the two of them to head out.

Once the two former presidents were out of sight, a mischievous expression grew on Natsuki’s face as she faced Yuri. She clasped her hands together excitedly and urged,

“Alright then, Yuri - let’s get this plan of yours going~”

 

**…**

**…**

**…**

**…**

 

Yuri and Natsuki tailed the two former presidents through the crowd of students and visitors through the old building hallway. This was the first time that either of them had seen so many people, so it was a little hard to keep track of Monika and Sayori.

At the back of Natsuki’s mind, she couldn’t help but feel like she was in some sort of a **Metal Gear** game or something.

**Starring**

_President ‘Cupcake’ Natsuki_

The petite Natsuki nearly lost her way a few times, but the towering Yuri walked a half pace ahead and cleared a path for them both.

 

_Vice President ‘Third Eye’ Yuri_

 

Before long, they found the former presidents making their way into the student council room - a regular classroom attached to the council president’s office.

 

**Enemy Combatants**

_Former President ‘Just Monika’ Monika_

 

What in the world did those two want to do in there?

The last time that Yuri and Natsuki were in that part of the old building, they were preparing to save the Literature Club from disbandment.

 

_Former President ‘Cinnamon Roll’ Sayori_

 

Nonetheless, the two stalkers made their way to the student council room as well.

Just as they were about to open the door, however, the door was opened for them. They were then greeted with the beautiful figure of Satchie in an elegant maid’s outfit.

**Guest Starring**

_‘Sketchy Fujoshi’ Satchie_

 

Her long, light-brown hair was done in a neat bun and she wore a bright smile on her lips.

Natsuki gasped at the unusual sight,

 

_Matsuri ‘The Witch of Peace’ Hideyoshi_

 

“Satchie!? What are you doing here?”

The maid Satchie put a hand on her hip and then pointed up to the ‘student council’ sign hanging above the door as she reminded,

 

_Parfait Girl ‘The Bruiser’ Strawberry Shortcake_

_Parfait Girl ‘Nothing Personal, Kid’ Grape Tart_

 

“I’m the student council secretary, remember? The council has to put on its own school festival booth too - so we went with a maid cafe.”

Yuri and Natsuki blinked and repeated Satchie with confusion,

“Maid cafe?”

 

_Parfait Girl ‘What Sorcery Is This?’ Green Tea Macaron_

_Parfait Girl ‘No Rainclouds Here’ Blueberry Cheesecake_

 

Satchie joined her hands together and nodded,

“It’s a cafe with pretty maids like me~ you guys will be in for a treat~! That is - if you two are gonna join us. We’re almost on last call, you know.”

 

_The Fearmonger_

 

She then slapped a poster by the door and warned,

“We charge an entrance fee too.”

 

**Chapter Design**

_Elias Pedro_

 

Natsuki hesitated and considered just waiting outside for Monika and Sayori to come out. Yuri, on the other hand, asked with a determined voice,

“Does the entrance fee include tea?”

“Of course~! Coffee too - if you prefer.”

 

**Published By**

_SayoriA03_

 

Without a second thought, Yuri produced her wallet and decisively spoke,

“Save the coffee for the green glutton who consumes cinnamon rolls with utter disregard for her compatriots. Tea is the patrician choice, mind you. Table for two, please.”

Satchie happily took Yuri’s payment and started her spiel,

“Thank you for your patronage, Madam Yuri, Madam Natsuki. Please follow me.”

 

**Created And Directed By**

_Elias_Pedro_

 

…

…

…

...

 

Maid Satchie led her two customers to a table at the very heart of the student council room. She took their orders - two jasmine teas - before trotting off to the student council president’s office.

Natsuki’s eyes narrowed. Were they using Matsuri’s office as their kitchen?

When the wonderful smell of tea and coffee wafted from that office reached Natsuki’s nose, however, her opinion of the student council improved - ever so slightly.

Yuri folded her arms when she caught a whiff of the aroma and dismissively hummed,

“Tis passable. I shall concede that much…”

The unamused novelist then turned over to Natsuki, only to find that Natsuki was already looking in her direction. The petite president grinned at Yuri and noted,

“I hope the tea they make here is even half as good as the tea you make, Yuri~”

Yuri felt her cheeks grow warm and she suddenly felt embarrassed. Whenever Natsuki went on tangents like that, Yuri’s heart would throb.

Afraid of being found out, Yuri slouched and turned away from her president as she shakily reminded,

“N-Natsuki… your compliment flatters me… but we are here to watch… Monika and Sayori, yes?”

“Oh, right! Haha~”

Natsuki innocently obliged and turned her attention back to Monika and Sayori who were seated by the window.

She saw the two former presidents happily chatting with each other. There was a relaxed air about them there as the light of the afternoon sun highlighted the smiles on their faces.

It was almost as if they were living in their own little world.

Moments later, Monika leaned forward and set her elbows down on the table. She rested her chin on the backs of her hands and looked straight into Sayori’s eyes - her green lost in those seas of bright blue.

Looking at the two from where she sat, Yuri couldn’t help but think of Monika’s one and only CG in the original game.

That was the way that Monika looked at Elias - the player - when she was still searching for something real.

Now, those eyes were on Sayori.

That much was clear as day to Yuri - and it made her heart flutter.

Natsuki, on the other hand, sat calmly in her seat simply gave a half-interested hum,

“Eh… she’s doing that thing from the CG thingy. I wonder if they’ll do anything more couple-like, y’know?”

Yuri furrowed her brow. Did Natsuki not have a romantic bone in her body?

Perhaps Natsuki read too much shounen manga and too little shoujo.

In all honesty, though, Yuri still didn’t know the difference between the two.

Regardless, if Natsuki’s heart didn’t jump at what Monika and Sayori were doing… then she wouldn’t be able to understand why Yuri suggested following the former presidents in the first place at all.

Yuri quickly realized that she was going to be in for a long afternoon.

 

…

…

…

…

 

While Yuri was pondering what she should do next, she noticed a peculiar figure marching out of the council president’s office - the student council president herself!

Matsuri was wearing a maid uniform just like Satchie’s, albeit with a less prominent posture -  ~~somewhere between Sayori and Natsuki~~. The council president came out with a tray of two cups of coffee and a small plate of chocolates and was marching down the makeshift cafe towards Monika and Sayori.

She served the former presidents their coffee and chocolate and had a short conversation with the two of them. In Yuri’s eyes, Monika looked like she was introducing her new girlfriend to an ex.

That must have been painful. Yuri wouldn’t have wanted to be in Matsuri’s shoes in that situation.

She felt as if she might have done something… drastic.

However, the conversation went off without a hitch and they seemed to end on cordial terms.

As Matsuri was leaving, however, Monika covertly handed her a small, white envelope with a turquoise blue seal.

A letter, perhaps?

Before Yuri could wrap her head around what happened, their own server Satchie came by their table with their cups of tea.

“Two jasmine teas. Hot. Sugar and cream on the side~”

Natsuki beamed as she took her teacup and started adding sugar. The cupcake baker then passed the sugar towards Yuri and turned to Satchie,

“Gosh, I didn’t expect to see the council prez of all people in a maid outfit! She didn’t even seem to be resentful about it.”

Satchie chuckled and suggested,

“Ah, you saw Matsuri already huh? Well - let me tell you that she was completely opposed to the plan for the longest time. She only warmed up to the idea recently - after a certain delinquent club fought for their lives~! You two really left an impression on her.”

Satchie’s eyes followed the council president make her rounds and attend to another table as she revealed,

“We’re back to the ‘same old Matsuri’ that we remembered from before. It’s kinda cute, actually. She went from being a slave driver to being that stern yet responsible and competent little sister who is brash and expects a lot out of everyone around her - because she holds herself to a higher standard… and quietly wants everyone to succeed.”

Yuri took a sip of her tea and noted,

“That is quite an extensive analysis of the council president, Satchie.”

“I told you before - I’ve been one of her fans from the very beginning… I’m just glad she’s back to normal. Now, there’ll be peace in our time~”

Satchie realized that she was rambling, so she apologized to her two patrons. The talkative maid then rejoined Matsuri and the two of them patrolled the cafe once more.

The vice president leaned back against her seat with her teacup in hand as she took yet another sip. When her eyes wandered over to where Monika and Sayori were seated, however, Yuri’s jaw dropped.

The former presidents weren’t there anymore!

Yuri gulped down her tea then turned Natsuki with a grim expression,

“Finish your tea, Natsuki. We’re moving.”

 

…

…

…

…

 

Yuri and Natsuki burst out of the student council classroom and into the old building’s hallway. There, they managed to catch glimpses of a ponytail with a white ribbon and a head of frizzy hair in the crowd of thinning people.

‘Where the heck are they going this time?’ Natsuki wondered.

Monika and Sayori seemed to be in quite a hurry, so Yuri and Natsuki gave chase.

Yuri took Natsuki by the hand and guided her through the crowd. The tall, purple-haired girl didn’t think much of it when she first held Natsuki’s hand. However, as their chase dragged on, she started getting self-conscious.

‘Right now… my skin oils are… mixing with Natsuki’s…’

What a pleasant thought, Yuri fantasized. Natsuki’s hand was so soft and small that Yuri just wanted to hold onto it forever.

Yuri’s fantasy, however, would come to an abrupt end as Natsuki suddenly stopped in the middle of the hall. The dazed Yuri was still trying to claw out of her obsessive daydream when Natsuki pointed out,

“Those two went into the Anime Club’s room!”

Yuri tilted her head and then thought out loud,

“Why would they wish to enter such an establishment?”

Natsuki shrugged.

“I dunno why they’re there, but it looks like the Anime Club’s screening a movie!”

“... a movie? Oh! A motion picture! Yes - that may very well be a potential ‘date’.”

“Hehe, I know, right? And the movie they’re showing is damn sick! Parfait Girls III - Rebellion! The latest one in the series - it covers stuff that happen after the latest volume… and  it hasn’t even hit theaters yet! How in the hell did Amy and her team get their hands on this one? Is she into some illegal shit? Bah - I don’t care! I wanna watch!”

“O-oy… we are here to observe Monika and Sayori, are we not?”

“We are, Yuri. But I love this series too, so it’ll be hitting two birds with one stone! Let’s go!”

With that, Natsuki dragged Yuri into the Anime Club’s room to watch the movie.

 

…

…

…

…

 

_The Present_

 

Ninety minutes into the movie, the climax of the story was in full swing. The Fearmonger had just defeated the assassin Grape Tart and was giving the fist-fighter Strawberry Shortcake the fight of her life.

A winded, bruised yet furious Strawberry Shortcake was chasing the Fearmonger through the spider-web strewn forest, throwing wild punches at her elusive foe.

In the foreground, Grape Tart watched the hopeless battle as she laid on the ground. She was slowly succumbing to the cocktail exotic poisons from the Fearmonger’s crossbow bolts. Three of those poisonous bolts stabbed into her torso and her vision was turning to black.

Everyone in the Anime Club room was tense and silent as they watched. Once again, however, Yuri was completely detached from the spectacle.

Her purple eyes scanned the darkened room and it was already clear to her that Monika and Sayori weren’t there. She figured that the two of them must have left halfway through the movie or there were people there who looked just like them in the crowd earlier.

Yuri’s plan to entertain Natsuki and discover just how close Monika and Sayori were was falling apart.

It was frustrating for her.

As she was thinking about this, however, Yuri heard a somber sniffle coming from beside her.

Yuri turned over to her companion and then gasped. There were bitter tears were streaking down Natsuki’s cheeks. The super Parfait Fangirl gave off a heartbroken whimper as she whispered beneath her breath,

“No… no… this wasn’t how it was supposed to end!”

Natsuki buried her face in her hands, too scared to even see what happened next in the movie. Her two favorite characters in her favorite series were just about to meet their demise.

More than that - based on what the Fearmonger had been saying in their fight - their comrades Green Tea Macaron and Blueberry Cheesecake already died by the crossbow-wielder’s hands.

The movie scene then focused again on Strawberry Shortcake whose wild punches were losing speed and strength. Strawberry was at her limit and she knew it.

The fist-fighter’s fatalistic thoughts then started to echo in her mind,

‘ _If only I had Grape’s speed… or Green Tea’s magic… or Blueberry’s strength… I would be able to avenge them. But I don’t have anything - anything at all! I’ve always been the weakest Parfait Girl - and now, it’s all gonna end because of me_!’

In that moment, Yuri couldn’t help but feel like it was Natsuki herself speaking Strawberry Shortcake’s lines. Was this how Natsuki had been feeling these past few days?

Was that why this movie was resonating so much with the petite president?

All of the sudden, the bleak scene faded to white - save for the fist-fighter who suddenly found herself in the nothingness. The toxic thoughts that had been flooding her mind were silenced as well.

Then, Strawberry Shortcake heard a gentle breeze blow behind her.

The fist-fighter whirled around in desperation and found two figures there - the archmage Green Tea Macaron and the beastmaster Blueberry Cheesecake.

Blueberry Cheesecake wore a warm smile and then shook her head,

“ _Strawberry. That’s not true at all. You’re the strongest Parfait Girl to have ever lived_.”

“ _W-what are you talking about, Blueberry? You two are dead! Grape’s about to kick the bucket too from the poison! She’s gonna die protecting me - I couldn’t protect anyone at all!_ ”

This time, Green Tea Macaron came forward and kindly refuted,

“ _You have protected us, Strawberry. The things that you and Grape have done in these past few days were nothing short of miraculous. If I were still the team leader, I don’t think I would have done any better than you have._ ”

The archmage then reached over to the fist-fighter’s modest chest and explained,

“ _Now, thanks to your efforts, we live on thanks to you. Blue and I are right here - in your heart_.”

Blueberry nodded and then held Strawberry’s hands in hers as she added,

“Call on us now and we will lend you our strength! It’s not too late for you and Grape. There is still a future where she can be with you - and a future where the Parfait Girls can be together. Protect that future with the strength you have within. So, go! Show the Fearmonger what a true Parfait Girl stands for.”

Strawberry Shortcake’s once dead eyes suddenly regained their luster as she remembered,

“ _Love. Parfait Girls stand for love against all odds…!_ ”

Green Tea Macaron and Blueberry Cheesecake nodded in agreement as they dissolved into bright flashes of green and blue lights. Those lights coalesced and flowed into Strawberry Shortcake’s heart.

The fist-fighter’s body then started to glow bright pink and her eyes shone in a brilliant shade of gold. Her locks of pink hair lengthened and her already toned muscles grew much more prominent.

Natsuki raised up her head and watched Strawberry Shortcake’s transformation in the middle of battle with absolute awe. She held her hands over her heart as she muttered to herself,

“I can be strong like that too… can’t I?”

Strawberry Shortcake emerged from the plane of nothingness and back into the web-strewn forest. Her body grew magically bulkier and the strength that she lost returned tenfold like a second wind.

The buffed fist-fighter’s strides grew larger and she eventually caught up to the Fearmonger.

The crossbow-wielder was dumbstruck, horrified by the monstrosity that was closing the distance between them all of the sudden.

“W-who are you!?”

“Who am I…?”

Strawberry Shortcake grinned as she pulled right arm back for one last haymaker punch,

[“I AM STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE, YOUR GREATEST NIGHTMARE - AND THE STRONGEST PARFAIT GIRL ALIVE!”](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/326/509/cf8.jpg)

The buffed, muscular beast then roared,

**“SUPER STRAWBERRY PUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNCH!!!”**

The punch connected and a spectacle of bright pink lights illuminated the entire forest. The Fearmonger’s menacing figure dissolved in the light as his body split into countless tiny spiders that fled from the scene.

 

…

…

…

…

 

Once the magical light fizzled away, Strawberry Shortcake’s over-bulked frame returned to its normal size. She then knelt down beside the dying Grape Tart and laid her hands over the assassin’s wounds.

Warm, emerald green light flowed from Strawberry Shortcake’s hands. Grape Tart felt her strength returning to her as she noted,

“That’s… Green Tea’s healing magic…”

Strawberry Shortcake then held her right arm up and an odd, yellow-feathered bird perched there with a small bag of poultice in its beak.

Grape Tart recognized that bird too,

“Blueberry’s delivery bird…”

The fist-fighter took the poultice from the bird’s beak and told her patient,

“Take this - it will help neutralize the poison till we get to town.”

“Back to town…? But Green Tea and Blueberry…!”

“Just drink, you big dummy.”

Grape Tart obliged and drank the contents of the bag. The string of the poison quickly started to dissipate as soon as she did and a wave of relief came over her body.

Then, without breaking a sweat, Strawberry Shortcake lifted up Grape Tart and carried her in a princess-carry. The assassin’s cheeks flushed red - but not because of the poison that time.

Grape Tart then turned away and felt her heart sink as she realized the gravity of the situation.

“The two of us… are the only ones left, huh?”

Strawberry Shortcake simply nodded, but quickly reassured,

“There still is a future where we can all be together. Green Tea and Blueberry told me to find it. They’re counting on us - so we can’t let them down. This isn’t the end - not by a long shot! That’s why we’re gonna go back to town - get patched up and rested… then we’re gonna search for that future - together.”

As the fighter carried the assassin through the forest, the [musical theme](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNl958ZeEoQ) swelled through the speakers and the credits started to roll.

 

…

…

…

…

 

Once the lights turned on in the Anime Club’s room, the audience greeted the credits with cheers and standing ovations. Under the cover of that chaos, Natsuki dashed towards Yuri and wrapped the vice president in a tight embrace. Yuri was surprised by the sudden development, but Natsuki didn’t hesitate or budge from the hug.

The petite president then whispered,

“Thank you for putting up with me and letting me watch the whole movie, Yuri. I know that Monika and Sayori left a while ago, but this is my favorite series so I really couldn’t help it.”

So… even Natsuki noticed the former presidents slipping out, Yuri thought. She figured that Natsuki might have been a little sharper than what Yuri gave her credit for.

Then, Natsuki’s embrace grew tighter as she continued,

“I’m not a dumb girl - sometimes. This is one of the few times where my tiny brain can actually put two and two together. I knew for sure that Monika and Sayori were a couple as far back as the maid cafe - I mean, you don’t look into someone’s lovestruck eyes like that and not give yourself away.”

She then raised her head and looked up to Yuri’s eyes to say,

“I also figured that you wanted to tail those two dummies because you sort of wanted to spend some time together with me in the festival like those two did. In the end - we sorta had our own little adventure, didn’t we?”

Yuri’s heart skipped a beat when Natsuki confessed all of this to her.

“H-how did you know…?”

Natsuki simply smiled at Yuri - and that was all that Yuri needed to see.

At that point, Yuri knew.

This was going to be the happiest festival of her life.

 

…

…

…

…

 

**Epilogue**

 

In the midst of their tender moment, as the movie audience trickled out of the Anime Club’s room, a pair of seats shifted behind Yuri and Natsuki.

The manga-reader turned towards the seats for a moment and gasped.

Monika and Sayori were seated right behind them!

The two former presidents had satisfied smiles on their lips as they watched over Yuri and Natsuki like doting parents. Sayori’s blue eyes were shining brightly with delight while Monika had an aura that seemed like lilies were blossoming in the air around her.

Yuri and Natsuki were still stuck in a tight embrace that neither of them would be able to talk their way out of.

Monika, however, shook her head and beamed at the two as she reassured,

“The two of you don’t have to hide it if you like each other. Sayori and I don’t hide.”

With that, Monika gently took Sayori’s hand in hers and continued,

“This is our world now. We’re free to do what we want - so we should do what makes us happy.”

Yuri and Natsuki turned to each other as they considered Monika’s words. The petite president then said,

“Well… I do like being around Yuri, but I’d like to get to know her more too. I mean - how long have we all known each other? We should start out as friends before becoming a couple like the two of you.”

This time, Sayori chuckled and squeezed Monika’s hand as she clarified,

“Moni and I never said that we were a couple. We’re just enjoying our new leases on life together, ahehe~. Frankly, we don’t need a title. We just want to be together like what we’re doing now.”

Sayori then grinned at Natsuki and reminded,

“Based on what you were saying though, Natsuki, you want to be a couple with Yuri someday. That’s great! Moni and I will support you two all the way!”

Monika nodded in agreement and Natsuki shriveled up from embarrassment. Yuri, on the other hand, cooly turned to the former presidents and asked,

“How exactly did the two of you manage to turn the tables on us like this? Natsuki and I kept our cards close to our chests after all.”

Sayori raised up her free hand and answered,

“Natsuki - take a look at the summary page of your administrative notebook.”

The petite president tilted her head and repeated,

“Summary page…?”

“Yeah~ the one that gives you the details of the story. You used that to find the date in Elias’ world for the Valentines Day special, remember?”

“Oh, that one…! Lemme check…”

Natsuki brought out her administrative notebook and flipped through to find the summary page. She then started to read its contents out loud,

“‘Waiting for Ribbons in the Void… Chapter… 8?’ Huh? What the heck is this!?”

Monika and Sayori turned to each other and nodded to each other. The two of them then revealed together,

“Elias started a new story!”

Yuri and Natsuki gasped in unison,

**“WHAT!?”**

Monika laughed heartily before she added,

“It’s the story of what happened between Chapters 9 and 10 of Post-Credits. This chapter happens after ‘Author’s Notes’ though. You and Yuri are the stars of the show too! Sayo and I aren’t even on the character lists - and we even  made that Metal Gear Solid V introduction bit halfway through this chapter!”

Yuri was crestfallen as she asked a rhetorical question,

“So are you saying… that everything that Natsuki and I have done… is recorded in this ‘Waiting for Ribbons in the Void’ story…? The two of you have been aware of this fact and have deliberately kept it from us?”

Sayori nodded and confirmed,

“Yup~!”

Yuri’s and Natsuki’s expression soured immediately and the two of them charged at Monika and Sayori. The two former presidents laughed as they ran together out of the Anime Club’s room while their successors gave chase.

 

…

…

…

…

 

The girls of the Literature Club zoomed down the hall on their way to the festival bonfire that was finally about to start.

The four of them whisked past a bewildered Matsuri. The student council president tried in vain to tell them to not run in the halls, but she already knew that there was nothing she could do about it.

Instead, she simply brought out the blue-sealed letter that Monika handed her earlier at the cafe and held it close to her heart. She then whispered tenderly,

“Onee-sama. It looks like I’ll be living with these colorful characters in their world from hereon out. I’m looking forward to it.”

**The End**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a wonderful journey writing for the DDLC fandom. With this work, the Post Credits Series comes to a definite close! Monika, Sayori, Yuri and Natsuki - along with the secondary characters that came to life ~~and the one who is taking refuge here from my other series~~.
> 
> I will still be working on my DDLC x MGSV fanfic from time to time, but I have become a busy man lately. That being said, it's reasonable to say that I'm done making DDLC fics. It was a pleasure writing for all of you - and you've been a wonderful audience.
> 
> Thank you for joining me on this journey!
> 
> -Elias Pedro
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> ~~Where was Amy in all of this?~~


End file.
